UK plan to sanction illegal Israeli settlements draws criticism from US, Israel and British MPs – UK politics live

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UK-US trade could suffer as a result of sanctions for illegal Israeli settlements, American ambassador warns

Good morning. It is hard to understand Labour/leftwing politics in the UK at the moment without reference to Israel and Gaza. Keir Starmer’s popularity with some progressive voters slumped in part because he was seen as unwilling to do enough to channel the anger they feel about how Israel is treating Palestinians – even though last year he took the historic step of formally recognising the state of Palestine. Quite a lot of what Andy Burnham has done in his early days as PM has had a “continuity Starmer” flavour, but today the new government will take a bold step that will recast the UK/Israel relationship, acting where the Starmer administration just dragged its feet.

In a statement to MPs, Ed Miliband, the new foreign secretary, will announce that Britain is banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Patrick Wintour has the story here.

For years, successive governments – Labour and Conservative – have condemned the decades-long expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land on the West Bank – while doing precious little about it. But with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government escalating the process, Miliband will tell MPs that action is necessary now to stop the prospect of a two-state solution (Israel living alongside a viable Palestinian state) being killed off for good.

As Patrick reports in his story, Miliband is not giving pro-Palestinian supporters everything they are asking for. Quite what impact the measures will have on Israel remains to be seen. But it is still a big shift in policy. And, conveniently for Labour, it is coming just a day after the party moved the writ for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, where what was a safe Labour seat is under threat from the pro-Palestinian Green party.

But the move isn’t without risks. The Conservatives argue that anything that jeopardises Israeli security cooperation with the UK could increase the terrorism risk to Britons. There are concerns that any government policy that stigmatises Israel is likely to heighten antisemitism. And there have been warnings that Israel and its allies – particularly the US – could retaliate.

This morning Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has said exactly that. In an interview, he told the Today programme:

I don’t know if [the British government is] really aware of the implications and how it’s going to affect Brits.

For example, 25% 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. [That] 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 – it 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.

Huckabee – a very rightwing Republican and former governor, who like most US ambassadors was appointed because he was close to the president – went even further at the weekend, accusing the UK government of “Jew hate”.

I will post more from his interview soon.

Here is the agenda.

Morning: Andy Burnham chairs cabinet.

11.30am: John Healey, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.

Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

After 12.30pm: Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, makes a statement to MPs about his plan to impose a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

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Key events

Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, arriving in Downing Street for cabinet earlier this morning.

UK commits £100m to bolster Ukraine’s air defences over winter

The UK has committed £100m to boost Ukraine’s air defences over winter with a package of military equipment including Patriot missiles, Jamie Grierson reports.

There are further details in the Ministry of Defence’s news release.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee defends accusing Ed Miliband of 'Jew hate'

Here are some more lines from Anna Foster’s interview with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, on the Today programme this morning.

Huckabee said that imposing a ban on trade with the illegal West Bank settlements was “irrational”. He said:

This is an irrational action. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t understand what it’s supposed to achieve.

If the UK is really interested in dealing with issues they feel like are wrong, where are the sanctions against North Korea, China, Russia? Where are the sanctions against many other nations in the world?

In fact, the UK does have sanctions affecting trade with North Korea, Russia and China. It is particularly surprising that Huckabee mentioned Russia in this list because the UK seems to have been tightening sanctions against Russia almost every week since the invasion of Ukraine.

He claimed the ban would amount to “discrimination” against Israel. He 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 said he had not spoken to Donald Trump about the UK trade ban this week.

He said the trade ban would have repercussions for the UK. He said:

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 the UK is a sovereign country, they can do what they want, but so is the US.

As mentioned earlier (see 8.39am), he said UK-US trade could suffer as a result.

He said that, when he accused the UK government of “Jew hate” in a post on social media at the weekend, he knew that Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, was Jewish. But he defended using the term.

There are some Americans that don’t like America very much. They march in the streets and burn our flags. Doesn’t mean that they love America just because they live there. You go by what people do, not just by what they say or who they’re related to.

He said Palestinians were to blame for the two-state solution not being implemented. Ed Miliband is arguing that the UK should act to stop settlement expansion because, with more West Bank land being taken over by Israelis, a two-state solution becomes unviable. But, asked about the two-state solution, Huckabee said:

The two-state solution has been a policy for a long time, but it’s on hold because the Palestinians have rejected a two-state solution.

When it was offered to them under Bill Clinton in the year 2000, all the parties were at the table and Yasser Arafat showed up. He was offered 97% of the territory, 97%, including East Jerusalem, and he walked away from it.

He claimed that there was an “imbalance” in the way events on the West Bank were reported, and that Palestinian violence against Israelis was not properly covered.

He said he did not accept the term “occupied West Bank” for the West Bank.

Trade ban for illegal West Bank settlements could increase chance of British Jews being attacked, Labour MP warns

A Labour MP has warned that the proposed ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank could increase the risk to British Jews.

In an interview with the Today programme, Peter Prinsley, vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel, said:

My fear is that opponents of Israel won’t distinguish between Israeli government policy, Zionistic political philosophy, and British Jews.

As far as they’re concerned, the whole thing’s the same, and I think it carries a real risk of increased chances of attacks on the British Jewish community. Which is exactly what I said to Ed Miliband when I was asked to see him two or three nights ago.

Prinsley also said he thought it was a mistake for the government to announce the ban now, only weeks before the election in Israel on 27 October. He explained:

I think the timing is terrible. I think we need to wait for the result of the Israeli election, and then we need to have another think.

We must do whatever we can to preserve the two-state solution, and I think the behaviour of the presently-elected Israeli government is really outrageous in this respect. I have a horrible feeling that what we’re doing will not only embolden the present government of Netanyahu, but has the capacity to influence the election itself, which is on a knife edge.

Tories dismiss ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements as 'performative posturing'

The Conservatives have described the proposed ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements as “performative posturing”. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, used the phrase on the Today programme when he was asked about the announcement coming today.

Philp said:

We think it’s performative posturing.

It’s very difficult to distinguish goods that come from the West Bank area versus the rest of Israel. So practically, it’s very difficult to implement.

It also risks damaging an important security relationship because we do rely, the UK relies, on Israel for vital information and intelligence about terrorist threats.

But I would also like to say, that said, we do oppose the building of settlements on land which is Palestinian, whether that’s sponsored by the Israeli state or simply allowed to happen, because we do think a two-state solution is the right solution, and building settlements on Palestinian land is obviously wrong.

The full details of the ban have not been announced. But the Foreign Office has not challenged the accounts of what Ed Miliband is expected to say later today.