Britain is bracing for diplomatic blowback from both Washington and Israel as Andy Burnham moves toward sanctions targeting settlements in the West Bank.
The planned action, expected to be unveiled later, would include restrictions on imports from the contested territories, even as criticism of the proposal grows louder.
Burnham briefed Donald Trump on the decision during a phone call last night, with ministers now preparing for the US president to make his reaction known publicly. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is also due to be pressed on the issue in the Commons today.
The announcement has already triggered fierce condemnation, with US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee describing the move as “Jew hate”.
Tensions sharpened further overnight after Florida congressman Randy Fine cautioned that state legislation could be used to block British imports in response.
Israel has also signalled possible countermeasures, with one minister suggesting support could be given to Argentina’s claim over the Falkland Islands. Security specialists, meanwhile, have warned that damaging relations with a key ally could carry risks for intelligence-sharing.
Unease is spreading inside Labour as well, with one MP warning there is “a real risk” the row could increase the threat of attacks against Britain’s Jewish community.
Britain is preparing for possible retaliation from the US and Israel as Andy Burnham pushes ahead with sanctions on West Bank settlements
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will face questions in the Commons on the policy later
Concern about Israeli settlements has been mounting for years. It has intensified following Israel’s recent decision to open tenders for 1,200 homes east of Jerusalem, which would divide the West Bank
Touring broadcast studios for the Government this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden insisted Israel remains a key ally of the UK.
He argued the measures would be targeted and not amount to a de facto ban on trade with the state.
Mr Burnham has not spoken to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu since becoming PM in July.
Labour has been under intense pressure from activists to toughen its position on Israel after losing votes to the Greens and pro-Gaza independents.
Concern about settlements has been mounting for years. It has intensified following Israel’s recent decision to open tenders for 1,200 homes east of Jerusalem, which would divide the West Bank.
Mr Miliband – who is Jewish – last week said the plan was ‘crossing a red line’ and ‘illegal under international law’.
He said the proposal ‘cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable’.
Mr Miliband said Labour wanted a ‘comprehensive reset’ of relations with Israel.
Mr Burnham has said the Israeli proposals could ‘imperil or end’ the dream of a two-state solution, which successive British governments have supported for years. In a call with Mr Trump last night he reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution.
But Itamar Ben-Gvir, the hardline Minister of National Security of Israel, wrote on X: ‘It’s time for the State of Israel to publicly recognize that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine territory under occupation, which the British violently steal from the Argentine people.
‘The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people.
‘I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.’
Last week Argentine president Javier Milei reiterated the country’s ‘sacred’ claim to the territory, which it failed to seize in the 1982 Falklands War.
Mr Milei has announced sanctions on oil exploration around the islands, encouraged by his ally Donald Trump pledging to ‘review’ US neutrality on the dispute.
Britain has been adamant that sovereignty of the Falklands – which the Argentines call ‘Las Malvinas’ – is not in doubt.
In a referendum of islanders in 2013, 99.8 per cent voted to stay British, with a turnout of 92 per cent.
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the expulsion of the British ambassador.
‘We will not be a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel,’ he said.
‘The British Mandate in the Land of Israel is over.’
Although Mr Trump has yet to comment, Republican Mr Fine posted on social media: ‘As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida.
‘It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate (permits, tax collection).
‘Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars.
‘And for those who doubt the power of this policy, it was this same law that broke Airbnb’s misguided effort to boycott portions of Israel in 2019.
The PM informed Donald Trump of his plans in a call last night, with the Government bracing for the president to respond publicly
‘They realized that this law would have bankrupted their company. Florida has made it clear. Any company — or nation — that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida.’
Mr Huckabee said: ‘I feel like that it’s a discrimination against the Israeli government, it’s discrimination against the Jewish people and I don’t understand the rationale of it.’
He added: ‘I don’t know if they have thought through, it’s like throwing a stone and not having an idea of where it’s going to land.
‘And I realise, look, the UK is a sovereign country, they can do what they want, but so is the US.’
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there would be ‘implications’ for Britain.
‘For example, 25 per cent of pharmaceuticals that are used in the UK are made in Israel. Are they willing to give those up? It looks like they are.
‘Are they willing also to do great damage to any Brits who are doing business in a number of states in the US.
‘I don’t know what all of the national sanctions or repercussions or retaliations will be from the US, hasn’t been announced yet.
‘But I do know that there are a number of states. Let me mention one, one of the largest US states, Florida, that has a law that if this action is taken, then Brits will not be able to do business with any company or business in Florida.’
Mr McFadden dismissed jibes about the Government engaging in ‘Jew hate’ and insisted Israel remained a key ally.
‘At the heart of the statement is the idea that the UK, along with many other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine being erased by changes to the facts on the ground, and the reason that danger has become more urgent is because of expanded settlement activity in recent weeks and months,’ he told Times Radio.
Plans in the so-called E1 area could see the ‘effective cutting off of the north of the West Bank from the south of the West Bank’, he said.
Asked why Mr Burnham had not spoken to Israel’s PM about the move, he said: ‘I’m sure he will speak to the prime minister of Israel.
‘But Israel is an important security ally, and in the context of what we’re saying today, I think it’s also important to distinguish between action which is announced in response to policies of this Israeli government at this time, and the people of Israel and the links between Israel and the UK, which are important and valuable and will continue to be so.’
Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat warned at the weekend that the move to impose sanctions could imperil security cooperation credited with saving British lives.
Britain and Argentina fought in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them
Last week Argentine president Javier Milei reiterated the country’s ‘sacred’ claim to the territory
He urged ministers to ‘put our own national interests and our own national security first’, adding: ‘That means that where we have friends and allies who provide us with intelligence in order to keep us safe we should work with them.’
Asked how it would be possible to tell whether goods come from settlements in the West Bank or the rest of Israel and to address concerns this could amount to an overall boycott by the back door, he told Sky News: ‘The Foreign Secretary will set out details of how this will operate when he stands up in Parliament this afternoon.
‘But I think it’s also important to say that Israel is an important trading partner for the UK. This isn’t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods.’
He added: ‘It’s measures specifically targeted at the expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the West Bank.’
