U.K. to sanction Israeli West Bank settlements, setting up clash with U.S.

Britain will announce a trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank later on Tuesday, a senior minister said, framed as a step up in UK support for a two-state solution.

The U.S. is likely to strongly oppose Britain’s intervention, and some in Israel have already reacted angrily with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the UK ambassador to be expelled.

Britain’s foreign minister Ed Miliband, six weeks into the job, flagged last week that he wanted to reset policy on Israel and he will announce the trading restrictions later.

The impact on the £6 billion ($8.12 billion) of annual bilateral trade is likely to be minimal, with details unclear of how the UK will differentiate between goods originating in West Bank settlements from products made in Israel.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, in office since July, discussed the Middle East in a call with President Donald Trump on Monday, when he stressed “the importance of the two-state solution”, according to his office.

At issue is Israel’s E1 settlement project in the West Bank, which Miliband and other western politicians have said would cut across land the Palestinians seek for their own state.

U.N. bodies…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world