US officials in Jerusalem and Washington drafted a statement for Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning plans by the UK, France and Canada to restrict imports from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, but the statement was ultimately shelved, Reuters reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the document was dated September 8 and was prepared earlier that month. Two sources said David Milstein, an influential adviser to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, drove the effort. The proposed statement characterized the measures as hostile actions against Israel that contribute to antisemitism.
"These tactics unacceptably draw from the playbook of the antisemitic boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement," the draft document, reviewed by Reuters, said.
Three people familiar with the matter said the statement did not have the backing of the White House or senior State Department leadership and was never issued. The sources spoke anonymously.
Rubio took a more restrained position when questioned by reporters in Florida on September 8, before departing for Latin America. Rather than directly criticizing the British decision or singling out another country, he said, "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," Rubio said.
A senior US official told Reuters that the draft had not been prepared in consultation with either the State Department or the White House.
The US embassy directed questions, including requests for responses from Huckabee and Milstein, to the State Department, while the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Britain announced the trade restrictions in response to Israeli construction tenders for the E1 project, which would link Jerusalem with Ma'aleh Adumim.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar subsequently announced a series of Israeli countermeasures. They include closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem, removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and ending British training for Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria through the “British Support Team in Ramallah."
Israel also said 12 British elected officials and other British nationals would be barred from entering the country over what Jerusalem described as antisemitic and anti-Israel activity or denial of Israel's existence.