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The Trump administration did not oppose a United Kingdom-led initiative imposing new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, even as U.S. officials disagreed with the specific measures, according to U.S. officials and Western diplomats, Axios reported.
The U.K. announced Tuesday that it would sanction individuals and entities involved in building settlements in the West Bank and ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed President Donald Trump before the announcement, and two sources familiar with the call said Trump did not object or ask Burnham to change course.
U.S. officials also told British counterparts that they shared concerns about the Netanyahu government’s West Bank policy, according to the sources.
The measures followed the Netanyahu government’s decision to move ahead with a new settlement in the sensitive E1 area, which would divide the West Bank and prevent territorial contiguity in a future Palestinian state.
Successive Republican and Democratic U.S. administrations have opposed construction in E1.
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden joined the U.K. in announcing plans to introduce national restrictions or support European measures on trade in goods with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
In response, the Netanyahu government announced the closure of the U.K. consulate in East Jerusalem, which handles relations with the Palestinian Authority. Israel also expelled British diplomats and military officers assigned to a U.S.-led Gaza task force and ended a British military training mission in the West Bank.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not condemn the U.K. measures when asked about them Tuesday.
“The President hasn't commented on this and neither have I. We were made aware that they are gonna make this decision. We heard their arguments as to why,” Rubio said.
“We share the goal of stability. We don't want to see an uptick in violence or tensions in the West Bank in a tenuous time in the region.”
The White House also distanced itself Tuesday from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s criticism of the sanctions.
A White House official told Axios that Huckabee’s remarks “were not coordinated with the White House” or the State Department.
Huckabee told the BBC that the U.K. decision amounted to “discrimination against the Jewish people” and called it “an irrational action.”
“If the U.K. is really interested in dealing with issues they feel like are wrong, where are the sanctions against North Korea, China, Russia?” he said.
The U.K. has imposed numerous sanctions against Russia, North Korea and China over the years.
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