By ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2, 2026

Gideon Sa’arYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned Britain on Tuesday that Israel is prepared to respond if London moves ahead with sanctions over Israeli construction plans in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.

“If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain,” Sa’ar said in an excerpt from a Hebrew-language podcast interview with Ynet.

Sa’ar said Israel is not taking the possibility of British sanctions lightly and accused the UK government of allowing domestic political considerations to shape its policy toward Israel.

“There is a government there that is systematically acting against Israel. It has already harmed defense exports to us and imposed sanctions on ministers. What guides it is its domestic politics, and at the end of the month the Labour Party conference is convening,” he said.

When asked what measures Israel could take in response, Sa’ar did not provide details but made clear that preparations were already underway.

“Why hint at it? What I’ve said is enough. We are preparing. If they make a mistake, there will be a response,” he replied.

The warning came hours after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told lawmakers that Israel’s planned development in E1 represented “the crossing of a red line.” He argued that construction there would divide territory sought by the Palestinian Arabs for a future state and “risks making a Palestinian state unviable.”

“This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution,” he said. “We will act and I will set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.”

Relations between Jerusalem and London have deteriorated in recent weeks following the publication of a tender for seven residential compounds in E1 comprising 1,234 housing units. The projects are part of approximately 3,400 housing units approved for the area last August.