Axios: Trump declines to oppose UK-led sanctions on Israeli settlements

The Trump administration did not oppose a UK-led initiative to impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in building Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to US officials and Western diplomats.

The UK announced the measures on September 8, joined by 11 other Western countries. The sanctions target those involved in settlement construction, while London also announced a ban on goods imported from Israeli settlements, Axios reports.

The move followed the Israeli government's decision to proceed with a new settlement in the sensitive E1 area, which critics say would divide the West Bank and undermine territorial contiguity for any future Palestinian state.

Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden joined the UK in announcing "their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank."

Ahead of the announcement, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed President Donald Trump about the planned measures.

Two people familiar with the call said Trump did not object to the initiative or ask Burnham to change course. US officials also told their British counterparts that they shared concerns about the Israeli government's policies in the West Bank, although they did not necessarily support the specific sanctions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not condemn the UK's decision when asked about it by reporters.

"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 sought to distance itself from comments by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who criticised the sanctions in an interview with the BBC.

A White House official said the ambassador's remarks "were not coordinated with the White House" or the State Department.

Huckabee described the UK's decision as "discrimination against the Jewish people."

"This is an irrational action ... if the UK is really interested in dealing with issues they feel like are wrong, where are the sanctions against North Korea, China, Russia?" he said.

The UK has imposed sanctions on Russia, North Korea and China over the years.

In response to the UK measures, the Israeli 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 assigned to a US-led Gaza task force and ended a British military training mission in the West Bank.

By Aghakazim Guliyev