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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned that planned British measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank could trigger consequences in the U.S., including restrictions on British companies operating in some states.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newsday program, Huckabee accused the U.K.’s Labour government of discriminating against Israel and said there would “undoubtedly” be a response from the U.S.
“The U.K. is a sovereign country, it can do whatever it wants, but the U.S. is also a sovereign country,” he said.
Huckabee said state-level responses could significantly affect British firms and, in some cases, prevent them from doing business.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected Tuesday to announce measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The measures are not expected to impose financial restrictions on specific individuals or companies but could prohibit trade with businesses operating in settlements.
Miliband previously called Israel’s E1 settlement project, which he said would isolate East Jerusalem and divide the northern and southern West Bank, a “clear violation of international law.”
British minister Pat McFadden said the measures would specifically target settlement expansion and aim to preserve the possibility of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
He stressed that the move would not amount to a boycott of all Israeli goods and said Israel remained an important U.K. trading partner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also criticized the expected measures, calling them a “grave miscalculation” that would “fall on the wrong side of history.”
“Sanctions are not a solution. Dialogue is,” Herzog said.
He argued that announcing the measures ahead of Israel’s election next month would amount to “a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation” and could hurt Palestinians by reducing business and employment opportunities.
The expected U.K. action follows rising settler attacks and expanded settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, where more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements among about 3 million Palestinians.
The U.K., along with the U.N. and most governments, considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and regards the territory as under Israeli military occupation. Israel disputes this characterization, describing the West Bank as disputed rather than occupied territory and asserting a historical claim to the land.
Burnham, in office since July, has taken a tougher line on Israel than his predecessor, apologizing in July for what he called the Labour Party's initial mishandling of its response to Israel's actions in Gaza.
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