Has the United States blinked? For the past week the British media landscape has been full of reports that the Trump administration was strongly opposed to the UK government's plan to sanction illegal Israeli settlements.
Numerous opposition politicians and political commentators in Britain criticised the Andy Burnham government on the grounds that its plans would isolate and weaken the UK by angering its most important ally.
And sources close to government told MEE that US officials did indeed lobby Andy Burnham's government not to go ahead with Tuesday's announcement.
Last week US President Donald Trump even suggested the US might not back Britain if Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, an intervention which - it was widely speculated - was linked to the UK's planned sanctions.
US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, even accused the British government of "Jew hate" over the weekend in another apparent escalation. He later warned that US states could sanction British companies.
