Israel believes Miliband had ulterior motives for sanctions

Israel believes Ed Miliband announced sanctions on West Bank settlements with an “ulterior motive” of winning voters from the Green Party, The Telegraph understands. The Foreign Secretary announced his intention to sanction companies involved in illegal settlements on Aug 19, despite scheduling a meeting to discuss the issue with his Israeli counterpart the next day. The sanctions have led to the biggest rift between Israel and Britain in decades and led to the closure of the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem, which was shuttered by Israel in retaliation. Opponents of the sanctions say they were announced to burnish Labour’s credentials on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before the party’s annual conference next month and a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, where Zack Polanski is running for the Green Party . Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that Mr Miliband had raced to impose “pre-determined” sanctions, despite ongoing private conversations about the settlements with Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister. The two men first spoke on Aug 11, when Mr Sa’ar assured the Foreign Office that Israel would not begin the construction of the E1 project in the West Bank until after the Israeli elections on Oct 27. The project, which includes the development of around 3,400 new homes, threatens to cut the West Bank in half and has been described by Israeli ministers as a device to “kill” prospects of a Palestinian state. Mr Miliband said after the first call that he had raised the “sharp escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion”. It is understood that he and Mr Sa’ar agreed to hold further “frank discussions” about the settlements nine days later, on Aug 20. However, that call was cancelled after Mr Miliband told the Commons on Aug 19 that he had decided to press ahead with sanctions because Israel had published tenders for E1 construction contracts. Diplomatic sources said the decision amounted to abandoning dialogue with the Israeli government and a missed opportunity to negotiate over the expansion. A source said: “The follow-up conversation was due to take place on Aug 20. “It never happened because the British side had already decided to proceed with sanctions for ulterior motives. The decision was, in effect, predetermined.” The decision to impose sanctions has been criticised by British Jewish groups and the Chief Rabbi , who said they would increase the risk of anti-Semitic attacks in the UK. The Telegraph understands it also came after Foreign Office civil servants warned Mr Miliband not to announce sanctions so close to the Israeli elections because they would lead to a severe response from Benjamin Netanyahu , the Israeli prime minister. Diplomatic sources said the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem would severely restrict the UK’s ability to maintain a presence in the West Bank and to evacuate staff from Tel Aviv during Iranian bombing raids. The sanctions were coordinated with France and Canada, although Israel targeted its diplomatic response at the UK, believing that Mr Miliband led the decision and used the other countries to give Britain diplomatic cover. Officials had previously warned Yvette Cooper, Mr Miliband’s predecessor in the Foreign Office, that sanctioning Israel without the backing of other Western governments would leave Britain exposed to retaliatory measures from Mr Netanyahu’s government. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “These claims are completely false. The accelerating expansion of illegal settlements is putting future progress towards the two-state solution at significant risk, and that is why we brought forward our measures to respond to this moral emergency. “In the past year alone, the UN have said that 16 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and recorded over 1,500 incidents of settler related violence – an average of over six incidents a day. “Despite this, this Israeli government has approved 104 new settlements and permitted tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement to go ahead, which as planned would cut through the heart of the West Bank.”