London, October 19 (QNA) - British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Monday that the Israeli occupation government’s decision to open tenders for settlement construction in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank poses a direct threat to the prospect of a two-state solution.

In a statement, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office quoted Miliband as saying that the British government wouldn't be a bystander in the destruction of the two-state solution.

He added that his government wouldn't accept the continued displacement of Palestinians or the unlawful occupation that persists.

Miliband said the British government was committed to introducing legislation to ban goods imported from illegal settlements and taking action against services that finance or facilitate them.

He explained that the government had created new powers allowing it to sanction individuals and companies involved in constructing illegal settlements, including the E1 project.

Miliband urged businesses and individuals not to proceed with bids for E1 construction tenders, warning them of the legal and reputational consequences, including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law.

Britain announced in September a ban on imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, alongside a comprehensive sanctions regime.

Separately, the statement said Miliband condemned attacks by settlers in the West Bank and escalating settler violence against Palestinians. He also condemned recent attacks on officials from France, Belgium and Poland, a representative of the Catholic Church, and a US journalist. (QNA)