Letter to the Foreign Secretary: Illegal E1 Settlement Scheme in the West Bank

Please see the letter below.

Dr Al Pinkerton MP has joined Layla Moran MP and other Liberal Democrat MPs in writing to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, calling for urgent action over Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and the continuing crisis in Gaza.

The letter follows the Israeli Government’s publication of a tender for settlement units in the E1 area. It warns that further development would threaten the viability of a two-state solution and argues that the Government must match its condemnation with concrete action.

Al and his colleagues welcomed the UK’s recognition of the State of Palestine in September 2025. However, the letter makes clear that recognition alone does not fulfil the UK’s wider legal obligations.

Key calls include:

• Impose sanctions on individuals, organisations and companies involved in settlement expansion, including the E1 project.
• Ban trade in goods and services produced in illegal settlements.
• Review existing trade arrangements to prevent them from facilitating settlement activity.
• Introduce a full embargo on arms export licences, including for F-35 components.
• Publish the Government’s assessment of the UK’s legal obligations following the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion.
• Press for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
• Set out the steps being taken to meet the UK’s obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza in response to the ICJ’s 2024 Order.

Al believes the Government must act urgently to uphold international law, oppose illegal settlement expansion and protect Palestinian civilians.

Please see the letter below.