U.S. officials and Western diplomats said the administration of President Donald Trump did not oppose a British-led initiative to impose new sanctions on Israeli entities in response to plans to build settlements in the occupied West Bank.
اضافة اعلان
According to U.S. news website Axios, citing two sources familiar with the matter, Trump did not object to the British sanctions during a phone call with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The sources said U.S. officials had told their British counterparts that they shared concerns over the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government in the occupied West Bank, even though Washington disagreed with London over the specific sanctions.
Britain announced on Tuesday that it would impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including a ban on imports of goods originating from Israeli settlements.
Eleven Western countries, including Spain, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, joined the British initiative, reflecting growing international frustration with Netanyahu's policies in the West Bank.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the countries said they were determined to impose national restrictions on trade in goods from settlements deemed illegal under international law, support European restrictions, or seriously consider taking such measures and others in accordance with their respective national procedures.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the "tensions" in the occupied West Bank while confirming that Washington would not join the countries imposing sanctions. However, his comments to reporters on Tuesday did not include any objection to or condemnation of the measures.
"The president has not commented on this, and neither have I. We were informed that they would take this decision, and we listened to their rationale. We share the goal of achieving stability, as we do not want to see violence or tensions escalate in the West Bank during this critical period for the region," Rubio said.
Huckabee's Remarks 'Not Coordinated'
According to Axios, the White House also distanced itself on Tuesday from comments by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to Britain's BBC, in which he criticized the new sanctions and described them as "discrimination against the Jewish people."
The website quoted a White House official as saying the remarks "were not coordinated with the White House" or the State Department.
Successive U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democratic, have long opposed Israeli settlement construction in the E1 area, which could divide the West Bank and undermine the possibility of establishing a future Palestinian state on contiguous territory.
In response to the British sanctions, Netanyahu's government announced the closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, which handles relations with the Palestinian Authority. It also expelled British diplomats and military officers working as part of a U.S.-led task force in Gaza and ended a British military training mission in the West Bank.
Israel also announced that 12 British figures would be barred from entering the country, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a prominent advocate for the Palestinian cause. The head of the Israeli settlement regional council in the occupied West Bank accused Britain of "antisemitism."
Source: Al Jazeera
