Drafted US Memo Slamming UK Over West Bank Import Ban Was Shelved, Sources Say
A draft statement attributed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that accused Britain, France and Canada of hostile, antisemitic-tinged conduct over their block on Israeli settlement imports was never issued, according to people familiar with the matter, exposing friction between the White House and Washington’s own diplomats in Israel. US West Bank memo shelved
The document, dated September 8 and not previously reported, was drafted by US officials in Jerusalem and Washington shortly after the three countries announced plans to restrict goods produced in West Bank settlements.
Two sources said the initiative was pushed by David Milstein, a senior aide to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and would have branded the allied nations’ move as tactics lifted from the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel.
Three people familiar with the matter said the statement lacked backing from the White House and senior State Department officials and was ultimately scrapped.
A senior US official told Reuters the draft had not been coordinated with either office. Rather than issuing a formal condemnation, Rubio sidestepped the matter when asked by reporters in Florida the same day, declining to single out any of the three countries by name.
The episode reflects a deepening split among Trump’s own Middle East team over how to respond forcefully to settlement expansion under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Trump has previously voiced opposition to further settlement growth and ruled out West Bank annexation, yet his administration has applied little real pressure on Israel to shift course — a gap that has increasingly frustrated allies including Britain, France and Canada.
Milstein has previously pushed for sweeping measures defending Israel, including an unrealized push last year to sanction the International Criminal Court over its war crimes case against Israeli officials.
The disagreement also mirrors a broader ideological rift within the American right, with recent polling showing younger Republicans growing markedly less favourable toward unconditional US support for Israel. Neither the US embassy nor the White House offered further comment when approached by Reuters. Middle East Report
