US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday condemned the “tensions” in the occupied West Bank while confirming that Washington would not join Western countries led by Britain in imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements.
“Of course, we will not do what the United Kingdom has done,” Rubio told reporters before departing for a trip to Latin America. He said the United States did not want to see anything destabilizing happen in the West Bank at a time when the region was already experiencing significant developments.
“We share the goal of stability,” Rubio said, reiterating that Washington did not want to see anything that could destabilize the situation or increase tensions in the West Bank.
Britain has banned imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, alongside a package of sanctions targeting settlement expansion and individuals and companies contributing to it.
Twelve foreign countries also plan to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank following an escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the occupied territories.
The measures have triggered angry reactions in Israel. Israel also closed the British Consulate in Jerusalem in response to the Western sanctions led by London over settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Britain would no longer be allowed to participate in a US-led coordination mission in Gaza and that British training for Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank would be suspended.
