Unreleased US draft condemned planned settlement import bans by UK, France and Canada

Jerusalem, Israel. US officials in Jerusalem and Washington drafted a statement in early September, attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, condemning plans by the UK, France and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The statement was never released.

Draft criticised planned bans

The draft, dated 8 September, described the three countries’ actions as hostile measures against Israel that contribute to antisemitism. “These tactics unacceptably draw from the playbook of the antisemitic boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement,” it said.

Two sources said David Milstein, an aide to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, drove the drafting. Three people who spoke on condition of anonymity said the statement did not have the support of the White House or the State Department’s senior leadership. A senior US official told Reuters it had not been prepared in consultation with either.

Rubio declined to criticise UK move

Asked about the UK’s move by reporters in Florida on 8 September, before travelling to Latin America, Rubio avoided direct criticism. “Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did. We saw their announcement today, but I don’t have any comment on it right now,” he said.

The US embassy referred questions, including requests for comment from Huckabee and Milstein, to the State Department. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The episode points to a widening divide between the White House and senior American diplomats in Israel over how to respond to settlement expansion under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.