UK settlement sanctions plan fuels rift with Israel
Britain’s government on Sept. 8 announced sanctions on trade from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a minister has indicated, sparking an angry backlash from Israel and the United States.
The move would signal a toughening of the U.K.’s stance on Israel under new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who entered Downing Street in July after Keir Starmer stepped down.
But it immediately caused friction with allies the U.S. and Israel, with America’s ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee calling the decision “irrational” and Israel threatening retaliatory action.
Huckabee told BBC , “I think without a doubt there will be” a reaction, including at the level of individual states in the U.S.
