Is Huckabee’s West Bank Rebuke a Real Policy Shift?

The ambassador’s words have changed. There is little evidence that American policy has.

by Nolan Denaro | Sep 10, 2026 | Antiwar.com

U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a staunch zionist, recently made waves when he referred to Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank as “terrorists.”

“It’s an act of terror,” Huckabee said. “I’ve been criticized a little bit for calling that terror, but terror is when a person is forced to change his or her behavior because of the behavior of someone else who is trying to use intimidation to make them afraid to live in their own homes, to make their children afraid to play in their own yards, to be able to walk their own streets.”

Huckabee’s remarks came after he met with Palestinian Americans living in the town of Turmus Ayya, who described to him the ways in which the Israeli settlers terrorize their communities.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated in recent months, as fanatical settlers have besieged countless Palestinian homes and villages across the region. There have also been several high-profile instances of Americans being victimized by this wave of attacks, including Rep. Ro Khanna and his staff, who said they were confronted by armed settlers near Khirbet Zanuta. An NBC News crew was also assaulted by a mob of Israeli settlers, a clash which was caught on video.

The “terrorist” label is a particularly touchy one in Israel, as it is generally reserved only for Palestinian acts of violence. It is said that contrary to the barbaric behavior of the Palestinians, Israeli forces act with the utmost precision and intentionality. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes the Israeli army as “the most moral army in the world.”

American officials and politicians seek to spread the narrative that Israeli forces go out of their way to avoid civilian casualties. This is simply propaganda to provide political cover for Israel’s actions. Their efforts to demolish entire neighborhoods, shoot women and children, and bomb civilian infrastructure are generally shrugged off or ignored by U.S. officials, and are almost never labeled “terrorism.”

Huckabee, in a surprising moment, diverted from the ritualistic downplaying of Israeli violence and instead decided to use such a label.

Many have questioned the significance of this move, and what it materially amounts to in the broader scope of the U.S.’ relationship with Israel. The U.S. has long been opposed to an Israeli annexation of the West Bank because it would not be conducive with America’s supposed wish to see a two-state solution. The settlements, on the other hand, have been condemned in a more selective manner.

In a certain sense, it is refreshing to hear the slightest bit of consistency from an American official when applying the word “terrorism.” However, when we get down to brass tacks, there seems to be no material shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the West Bank. The U.S. possesses incredible leverage over Israel – both in terms of military and financial aid – and could compel the Netanyahu government to step in and put a stop to the unhinged settler movement. Despite this, words of condemnation are all we have seen so far.

Huckabee’s recent response to British criticism of Israel demonstrated the limits of his condemnation. On September 4, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israel of blocking medicine from entering Gaza. In response to this claim, Huckabee said that the British government was infested with “Jew hate.” Just a quick note: Miliband is Jewish, so calling him a Jew hater is rather bizarre.

As much as this accusation against Israel may upset Huckabee, that does not change its validity. Doctors Without Borders, a medical humanitarian organization, has explained the difficulties surrounding getting aid into Gaza, and they have said that the Israeli government is making it incredibly hard to provide Gazans with medical attention.

Britain’s Ed Miliband also announced on September 8 that the U.K. would be banning imports from settlements in the West Bank, which he called “illegal.” He also described the settlement expansion as “ethnic cleansing.” This struck an especially sensitive chord with American zionists like Rep. Randy Fine and Mark Levin, who are now calling on American state governments to boycott the U.K. in response. Huckabee, who himself called the Israeli settlers “terrorists,” once again reiterated his accusations of antisemitism against the British government in an appearance on BBC Radio 4 Today.

According to these people, it is the duty of American state governments to sacrifice the financial stability of their own citizens in order to virtue-signal on Israel’s behalf. This is brazen prioritization of a foreign nation over our own, and it should outrage us all.

The lack of credibility Huckabee has on the issue of Israeli expansion should also be taken into account. Back in February, he did an interview with Tucker Carlson. Carlson asked Huckabee if it would be justified for Israel to expand into both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria in order to fulfill what the ambassador claims is God’s promise to his chosen people.

Huckabee responded “It would be fine if they took it all.”

This caused immediate regional backlash, with over a dozen nations, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Syria putting out a joint statement calling Huckabee’s remarks “dangerous.”

While he claims to be against the violence being committed by Israelis in the West Bank, he openly admits to being in support of the expansionist ideology that fuels the settler movement. How can he have it both ways?

Although the ambassador’s original condemnation of settler violence may have seemed at first to be a shocking moment, it likely means very little in the broader scope of the U.S.-Israel “special relationship.” There is no sign of a major policy shift occurring within the Trump administration anytime soon to pressure Israel into complying with our wishes. Instead, we just sit back quietly and helplessly, pretending that we don’t fund the entire campaign of regional warfare that Israel is waging against its neighbors.

The United States does not need to be involved in this Israeli project of slowly stealing Palestinian land in the West Bank, but by continuing to militarily and financially aid it, the U.S. government is complicit. Thus, we continue down this road, where government officials will, on occasion, openly acknowledge the heinous crimes of Israeli terrorists, while continuing to materially support them. We lose both financially and morally, while Israel expands.

Nolan Denaro is a political analyst, writer, and host of “The Quest For Clarity” podcast, available on YouTube and Spotify. He is a columnist at Antiwar.com, and his work has been published by Responsible Statecraft, the Libertarian Institute, The Daily Caller, and the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, economics, and current events, with a particular focus on war and imperialism. He writes opinion pieces on his Substack, and you can follow him on X @nolandenaro. Nolan can be reached for correspondence at nolansdenaro@icloud.com.

Diplomatic row escalates as UK, France and Canada move to sanction Israeli settlements

Issued on: 09/09/2026 - FRANCE24

Britain, France and Canada said Tuesday they will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with a UK minister accusing Israel of turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians there. The moves prompted a furious Israel to unveil immediate counter-measures targeting Britain, as Jerusalem-based journalist Jordana Miller reports.

‘Must Be Just the Beginning’: UK, France, Canada Move to Ban Imports From Israeli Settlements

“Today, we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution,” said UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

Palestinians inspect severe damage inside a family home following an Israeli military raid and siege in the West Bank on September 8, 2026.
(Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Sep 08, 2026
COMMON DREAMS


The United Kingdom, France, and Canada joined forces on Tuesday to ban imports of goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where settlers and soldiers are assailing, displacing, and killing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate with the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

“Today, we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution,” Ed Miliband, the UK’s foreign secretary, said in a speech to the House of Commons. Miliband pointed to the Israeli government’s recent approval of construction projects that would evict Palestinian communities and “place settlements directly between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, cutting through the heart of Palestine.”

“Let’s be clear what this means: the creation of a set of facts on the ground to make the two-state solution unviable,” said Miliband, in what was described as the UK government’s most forceful condemnation of Israeli conduct in the West Bank to date. “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank—perpetrated by settler terrorists. And all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”

Miliband said the UK government would “take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion” and penalize “those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements.” He said the sanctions would be in place within six to nine months.



Miliband emphasized that in banning imports from Israel’s West Bank settlements, the UK was not acting alone. The British foreign secretary noted that France and Canada will also “ban the import of goods from illegal settlements,” joining “the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway—which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so.”

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign affairs minister, wrote on social media that France is cutting off imports from illegal Israeli settlements “because the West Bank is on the brink of explosion: unchecked expansion of colonization in violation of international law, surge in violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against Palestinians, acts of terror denounced by the Israeli authorities themselves.”

“France cannot, through its trade, support a situation that threatens the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike, as well as peace and stability in the region,” Barrot wrote. “Europe must uphold the same imperative.”

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of 12 nations—the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden—said that the situation in the West Bank is “rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.”

The foreign ministers confirmed their “intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures.”

“In this regard, the UK, France, and Canada welcome the important action already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium, and will bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods,” the statement continued. “The government of Israel must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.”

Advocates largely welcomed the governments’ announcements while stressing that they should be the starting point for more sweeping action to confront the Israeli government’s illegal annexation efforts in the West Bank and crimes against humanity across the Palestinian territories, including the decimated Gaza Strip.

“Today’s announcement is the result of many years of work by campaigners and Palestinians themselves fighting to end severe injustice,” said Nick Dearden, director of the UK-based advocacy group Global Justice Now. “We know this move will be very popular in Britain. But it must be just the beginning. How can we cooperate with a military guilty of the most serious abuses of international law? How can we trade with a country that stands accused of genocide at the world’s highest court?”

Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, dismissed the UK government’s sanctions announcement as “largely performative,” but said they also “reflect the impact of relentless public pressure on the current government.”

“The UK is legally obliged to take serious measures to end its complicity with the State of Israel, not merely with the settlements, per the [International Court of Justice],” said Barghouti. “While Miliband says, ‘We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution,’ he has not said how the UK will stop its active contribution to the Israeli-US led destruction of the international legal system and the drive towards a might-makes-right order.”

US and Israeli officials responded furiously to the UK’s sanctions announcement. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s extremist national security minister, called for the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, while Israel’s finance minister demanded the expulsion of the British ambassador.

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, characterized the UK’s trade ban as “discrimination against the Jewish people” and suggested that individual American states such as Florida could retaliate against the British government.

US Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), a rabidly pro-Israel lawmaker and anti-Muslim bigot, wrote on social media that “Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners” and signaled that the state could move to boycott UK goods.

Far-Right Israeli Finance Minister Demands Expulsion of UK Ambassador Over Settlement Trade Ban

The United Kingdom’s Labour government is set to announce a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich takes part in the Jerusalem Day parade at the Damascus Gate in the old city of Jerusalem on May 14, 2026.
(Photo by Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Sep 08, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

The United Kingdom on Tuesday is expected to announce a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a plan that prompted a furious response from far-right Israeli and American officials even as British diplomats privately acknowledged that the new sanctions package would be mostly symbolic.

“Expel the British ambassador tonight!” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote in a social media post ahead of the official announcement. “We will not be a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.”

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, is set to unveil the trade ban as the Israeli government aggressively accelerates its unlawful land grabs and expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank, where violent rampages by Israeli settlers have reached unprecedented levels. The trade ban was developed after the Israeli government advanced a plan to build more than 1,200 new settlement homes in the West Bank.

The Guardian reported Monday that “in his statement to MPs, Miliband is expected to use firmer language than his recent predecessors in calling out the humanitarian injustices suffered by Palestinians in Gaza.”

“The steps he lays out are likely to fall short of the full set of demands made by Palestinian advocacy groups,” the outlet added, “but they will still be seen as a sign that the UK is moving beyond traditional rhetorical support for a two-state solution towards active steps to forestall the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank—widely seen as intended to destroy the prospect of a Palestinian state.”

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reportedly spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday about the impending trade ban, which drew condemnation from the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

Behind the scenes, according to Bloomberg, UK diplomats “privately told the US that the sanctions are largely symbolic and will have no material impact on the UK’s wider relationship with Israel on trade or security, in a bid to soothe the Trump administration’s response.”

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, told The Guardian that a ban on trade with Israeli settlements would be an “absolutely important” change in UK government policy.

Nick Dearden, director of the UK-based advocacy group Global Justice Now, wrote on social media that “a settlement ban is welcome but we must go further.”

“Hope the government will include services and will announce new bans of weapons sales and military coordination tomorrow,” Dearden added. “The comms is an improvement but we need action.”

Reuters reported that the impact of the policy move on bilateral trade with Israel is “likely to be ⁠minimal, with details unclear of how the UK will differentiate between goods originating in West Bank settlements [and] products made in Israel.”

‘I’ll Wear It as a Badge of Honor,’ Says MP Sultana After Israel Bars Entry to 11 UK Lawmakers

“I will not be intimidated into silence,” said MP Zarah Sultana. “If anything, this ban only strengthens my resolve to keep speaking out.”

Your Party MP Zarah Sultana speaks during a national march for Palestine on January 31, 2026, in London, England. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London to protest Israel’s military actions in Gaza and to call on the UK government to end its political and military support for Israel.
(Photo by Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)

Stephen Prager
Sep 08, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

Zarah Sultana, a member of the UK Parliament, said she won’t stop speaking about the rights of Palestinians after Israel banned her from entering the country on Tuesday.

“Given that this is a fascist government presiding over genocide, apartheid and an illegal occupation, I’ll wear it as a badge of honor,” she said in a post to X. “I will not be intimidated into silence. I will continue to speak out against Israel’s genocide and against the UK’s complicity. If anything, this ban only strengthens my resolve to keep speaking out.”

Sultana, who represents Coventry South and is a co-founder of the left-wing Your Party, was one of 11 members of Parliament whom Israel announced it was blocking from entry in retaliation after the UK joined Canada, France, and other nations to announce an import ban on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.

Following a year of record violence against Palestinians in the territory, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the import ban was in response to the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank—perpetrated by settler terrorists.”

Israel has reacted with fury at the move, closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem, which handles relations with Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Also banned from the country are UK Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, and Naz Shah; Green MPs Siân Berry, Ellie Chowns, Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay, and Hannah Spencer; as well as Jeremy Corbyn, who led the Labour Party from 2015-20 before co-founding Your Party with Sultana in 2025.

Remarking on his and his colleagues’ ban from the country, Corbyn said Israel’s treatment of Palestinians was “the real scandal.”



“I have visited all parts of Palestine on several occasions, where I have witnessed the horrors of occupation, as well as the resilience and humanity of the Palestinian people,” Corbyn wrote on X. “They are the ones who suffer from Israel’s apartheid. It is their freedom which is egregiously curtailed, alongside thousands of Palestinian refugees who are denied the right of return.”

He added: “As the world wakes up to the genocide in Gaza, it is shocking that Israel continues to deny entry to UN investigators and international journalists. Israel doesn’t want the world to see what it is doing—but we can never give up in our attempts to expose the truth.”

Israel also banned Fahad Ansari, a lawyer who has represented Hamas’ political wing in court in the UK and—like Sultana—said on X, “I am neither British nor an MP but do take this as a badge of honor (although pretty sure I’m already a persona non grata in the apartheid state).”

Corbyn Urges UK Government to Condemn Gaza Genocide After Israeli Settlement Trade Ban

“This is not merely a matter of semantics. This is a matter of international law.”

UK Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn holds a copy of the Gaza Tribunal Report at Conway Hall in London on March 16, 2026.
(Photo by Jeremy Corbyn/X)

Jessica Corbett
Sep 08, 2026
CONMMON DREAMS


Amid Israeli settlers and soldiers’ unprecedented violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn was among those arguing on Tuesday that the United Kingdom’s new “sanctions on illegal settlements are welcome, but not enough,” and calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to condemn Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip as genocide.

On behalf of the UK’s ruling Labour Party, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He was joined by leaders from Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, who confirmed “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions” on trading with Israeli West Bank settlements.

Corbyn, a former Labour leader from Islington North who has since co-founded Your Party, declared that “Britain must end all arms sales, all military cooperation, and all forms of support that sustain Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation, and genocide.”



In addition to speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Corbyn wrote to Burnham that “for three years, we have witnessed the abominable destruction of human life in Gaza,” where “Israel has killed at least 73,000 people, excluding an untold number of people lost under the rubble.”

While welcoming Burnham’s recent admission that Labour “got it wrong” and its “initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt,” Corbyn said that “it is extremely disappointing that these words have not translated into meaningful action.”

“It has not gone unnoticed that, 50 days into your premiership, you have declined to call ‘the treatment of Gaza’ what it really is: a genocide,” the MP stressed, noting that the term has long been used by scholars and human rights advocates globally. “This is not merely a matter of semantics. This is a matter of international law.”

“Far from preventing genocide, the British government has facilitated genocide through ongoing military, economic, and political cooperation,” Corbyn charged, pointing to his call for an independent public inquiry into the UK’s complicity. “The question is not whether Labour got it wrong. The question is what your government will do now.”

Corbyn asked Burnham to confirm if he will establish an inquiry, end all military cooperation with Israel, impose widespread sanctions, overturn the ban on the advocacy group Palestine Action, and support the work of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice—the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, and the ICJ has taken up South Africa’s genocide case on the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) conduct in Gaza.



As Corbyn pushed UK leaders to go further than the new trade ban—which is largely symbolic—the Israeli government responded to the sanctions by taking aim at a dozen people, including Corbyn and his Your Party co-founder, MP Zarah Sultana, barring them from entering Israel.

Israel also banned four Labour MPs—Diane Abbot, Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, and Naz Shah, as well as five members of the Green Party: Siân Berry, Ellie Chowns, Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay, and Hannah Spencer. The final person barred from Israel is Fahad Ansari, a lawyer who has represented Hamas’ political wing in court in the UK, according to The Times of Israel.

Ansari replied on social media Tuesday that “I am neither British nor an MP but do take this as a badge of honor (although pretty sure I’m already a persona non grata in the apartheid state).”

Meanwhile, others in the United Kingdom and around the world joined Corbyn in framing the Labour government’s sanctions as progress, while also emphasizing that, as the Corbyn-founded Peace & Justice Project put it, “they should only mark the start of the process in bringing about real peace and social justice for the Palestinian people, who have been subjected to decades of unimaginable subjugation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.”

“The UK government must commit to a full arms embargo on Israel, ending all forms of military cooperation with the IDF, and supporting the ICC arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Cabinet,” the project declared, calling for the full implementation of recommendations from the Gaza Tribunal report from last year.



Describing the UK’s “concrete action” and recognition of “Israel’s unlawful occupation and ethnic cleansing” as “hugely welcome,” Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, noted that Miliband “promised a ‘comprehensive reset’ and today could be the sea change that is needed.”

“Amid ethnic cleansing, genocide, and apartheid against Palestinians, today’s measures are a genuine step towards accountability for Israel’s repeated and flagrant violations of international law,” she said. “The commitment to ban trade in settlement goods and some services, prohibit financing of settlements, refuse arms that contribute to the occupation, and support the genocide case before the International Court of Justice represents a significant change of course.”

“For years, Amnesty has worked with members, partners and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to press for meaningful change, and today shows that campaigning for human rights works,” she added. “But today is not the end of the road. The test now is whether these commitments are properly implemented and enforced, and followed by the wider action needed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and meet the UK’s obligations under international law.”

MAGA lawmaker's threat to punish Britain could wipe out 70,000 jobs in his own state

Alexander Willis
September 8, 2026 
RAW STORY


U.S. Representative Randy Fine (R-FL) leaves after the House of Representatives passed a war powers resolution on the ongoing conflict with Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) issued a fierce threat to the British government as it considered imposing boycotts on goods from illegal Israeli settlements, a threat that could end up wiping out around 70,000 American jobs.

On Monday, reports revealed that the United Kingdom was preparing to impose new restrictions on goods produced in Israeli settlements. There are more than 700,000 Israeli settlers illegally living in the West Bank, with instances of Israeli settler violence rising in recent months. Also on Monday, Fine issued the United Kingdom a warning.

“As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida,” Fine wrote in a statement published on social media.

“It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate (permits, tax collection). Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars.”

The United Kingdom is a top investor in Florida, and British companies account for around 70,000 jobs in the Sunshine State. In a follow-up post, Fine asked X's chatbot Grok to explain how Florida's anti-boycott law might affect British companies — and critics said its response backfired on him spectacularly.

“LOL. You are going to wreck your own state,” wrote Leilani Dowding, a British model and reality television personality, in a social media post on X Tuesday.

“Haha, you asked Grok, and it told you how much your plan would f--- over Florida, not the UK,” wrote Jack Duncan, a British LGBTQ+ rights activist, in a social media post on X Tuesday.

“About a dozen” American citizens have died from incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers, including the death of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an IDF bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. An American was killed by Israeli settlers as recently as July of last year: 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet, who was “beaten to death” by settlers while on his family’s farm near Ramallah in the West Bank.

UK draws fire from Israel and United States over sanctions on West Bank goods

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By IntelliNews Tel Aviv bureau September 8, 2026

The United Kingdom’s government is coming under heavy fire from Israel and the United States as it prepares to implement restrictions on goods produced in West Bank settlements.

This comes after the European Union adopted sanctions in June targeting certain Israeli individuals and organisations located in West Bank settlements.

The restrictions are set to be announced on September 8, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband expected to unpack the details of the measure in the House of Commons.

“The foreign secretary will make a statement to Parliament later today,” pensions minister Pat McFadden told Times Radio. “The reason that danger has become more urgent is because of expanded settlement activity in recent weeks and months.”

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham had a phone call with US President Donald Trump on September 7, in which Burnham stressed “the importance of the two-state solution,” as quoted by US media.

During a separate public address, Burnham voiced his concern over Israel’s E1 settlement project, claiming that it compromises a two-state solution as it encroaches on land that Palestinians may seek for their own state.

Burnham addressed the E1 settlement project when answering a question from Labour MP Debbie Abrahams in the Commons.

“We’ve seen the really quite worrying statement about the E1 extension and the settlements there, and the fast-track tender process, which I think will lead to decisions being made before the Israeli election,” Burnham stated, seemingly accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the project as an election ploy.

Burnham went on to claim that this action could “imperil, if not end, the two-state solution. So these matters are urgent. They do need to be confronted, and I believe we will be updating the House soon on those matters.”

According to the Independent, Burnham separately said that the UK government is looking to prevent British companies from “financing, constructing or advertising new settlements” in the West Bank.

While Israeli politicians have responded aggressively to the UK government’s decision, the United States government has also entered the fray, threatening to take actions of its own against the UK leadership.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticised the move, warning that the US would respond to the UK government’s decision.

“It’s like throwing a stone and not having an idea of where it’s going to land. The UK is a sovereign country; they can do what they want, but so is the US,” Huckabee told BBC Newsday.

“I feel like it’s discrimination against the Israeli government. It’s discrimination against the Jewish people,” Huckabee continued.

Florida House Representative Randy Fine also criticised the move.

“As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida,” Fine wrote on X.

“Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars,” Fine continued.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hit out at the proposed UK sanctions in a public statement. “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain,” Sa’ar stated. “If they act, I think they will be making a big mistake.”

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke out as well, posting on X: “Expel the British ambassador tonight! The British Mandate in the Land of Israel is over."

He went on to state that Israel would not be "a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government," while labelling the UK “a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded on X by calling on Israel to recognise the Falkland Islands as Argentine territory. "The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people," Ben-Gvir wrote.

The Falkland Islands are already a sensitive topic, with Argentine President Javier Milei seeking sanctions against companies involved in the Sea Lion offshore oil project, as the UK seeks to reassert its claim.

On the ground, Israeli citizens appear infuriated by the potential sanctions.

“This is worrying for me,” Itay, a software developer from Tel Aviv, told IntelliNews. “The sanctions might be against West Bank settlements, but what if they are extended to the rest of us? I have foreign investments in Britain and even some family living there. This is highly stressful.” 

“The UK didn’t do this against Gaza after October 7. They don’t do it against Iran, Venezuela, or North Korea. So why are we the exception?” Ilana, a mother of three from Kfar Saba, asked. “All we ask for is equal treatment.”

Shlomi, a cycling shop owner from Modi’in, took a more combative stance. “I hope that Trump punishes the UK heavily for this move. I always believed that the West was all on the same side, but clearly this isn’t the case anymore.”

Family of American Student Urges US to Secure Her Release from Israeli Detention

Sami Safi’s arrest is part of a “concerted effort to crush the new generation of Palestinian leaders,” her aunt said.

By Shireen Akram-Boshar , 

Truthout

September 2, 2026

Israeli soldiers walk through an open field in Beit Sahour, south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank on August 14, 2026. Violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased dramatically since October 7, 2023.Ahmad Gharabli / AFP

The family of Sama Safi, a Palestinian American student who is being detained in an Israeli prison, has urged the U.S. to do more to secure her release.

Grassroots pressure “has been effective in forcing the U.S. embassy to visit Sama,” Sama’s aunt, Leila Farsakh, told Truthout. The embassy has now visited her twice since her imprisonment in June, and has reported on the poor conditions of her detention. “But we need intervention from the U.S. government to release and protect Sama and all American citizens.”

Sama, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and psychology student in the occupied West Bank, was detained by Israel along with three other female students of Birzeit University in June, and has been imprisoned without formal charges. The other students detained with Sama are Jolan Abu Awad, Laila Nail Khalil, and Natalie Abu Dayyeh, who is a player on the Palestinian women’s soccer team.

“She was wrongly detained,” said Farsakh, who lives in Boston. “They’ve accused her of belonging to a student group, which she denies.”

Sama is being held in Israel’s Damon Prison, under harsh conditions, and has reported facing verbal abuse at the hands of Israeli soldiers, medical neglect, overcrowding, and the spread of a skin disease among the women being detained.


40 Democrats Demand Israel Free Sami Safi, US Citizen Detained Without Charges
Lawmakers warn Rubio that Safi, who has chronic health issues, may die in Israeli prison if he doesn’t take action.  By Sharon Zhang , Truthout August 25, 2026

Women being detained at Damon prison have spoken of punitive measures and medical neglect, including being dragged and humiliated when taken outside for “yard time” each day.

On August 19, Israel’s far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the prison and boasted of worsening the conditions of confinement for male and female Palestinian detainees, while making threats against them.

Sama’s case is particularly acute as she suffers from a chronic health condition which comes with “risk of organ failure” if not properly treated, Farsakh, Sama’s aunt, explained. “She has to have an injection once every month, and she has to take her medication, but they’re not being regular in giving her medication.”

In this regard, Sama’s case is reminiscent of the case of Terry Boulata, who was a student leader at Birzeit University during the 1980s and was imprisoned during the First Intifada. During her imprisonment, she suffered from a rare, severe health condition, and was only released after international pressure and global leaders stepped in.

Grassroots pressure has had an impact on Sama’s case, Farsakh said – and more must be built on that momentum. Farsakh spoke of the efforts of the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in agitating for Sama’s release. Over 100 human rights organizations, civil rights groups, and youth organizations have also signed a letter calling for Sama’s release.

“It’s been very important to see grassroots mobilization in the U.S. for the sake of freedom of Palestinian prisoners,” Farsakh said.

These grassroots efforts brought Sama’s case to the attention of U.S. senators and members of Congress.

Shortly after her arrest, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) spoke about Sama’s detention. In a video message, Van Hollen described her unlawful arrest, saying, “Israeli security forces came to her home at 3 am in the morning, and just took her without explanation. She told them she was an American citizen. They didn’t care.”

Van Hollen pointed out that U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “always tell us that their number one priority” is “to protect American citizens,” and that they must secure Sama’s immediate release to live up to these claims.

In August, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) posted on X that Sama “has been subjected to unspeakable cruelty in Israeli prison after being kidnapped from her home,” and that “her doctors warn that she now risks irreversible organ damage” due to Israel’s medical neglect of her chronic health condition.

Tlaib then took the lead in putting forward a letter, signed by 41 senators and representatives, calling for Rubio to pressure Israel for Sama’s release.

“Every day that Sama remains unlawfully detained in these inhumane conditions, she is at greater risk of irreversible and life-threatening repercussions,” the letter explains. “It is your responsibility to ensure the safety of all Americans abroad, with no exceptions. Her life is at risk on your watch.”

U.S. citizens have not been immune from Israeli violence. In 2024, Israeli forces shot and killed American protester Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank. In 2022, Israeli forces killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as she was reporting in the West Bank. And in 2024, U.S.-Canadian Jacob Flickinger was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. It is unclear how many Palestinian Americans have been killed in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has also detained other Palestinian Americans in its prisons. In 2025, Israel detained Mohammed Ibrahim, a teenager from Florida, in the West Bank. Detained at 15 years old, Mohammed turned 16 while in detention, and was finally released after a campaign brought about pressure from U.S. lawmakers.

Farsakh insisted that grassroots pressure must continue, not only for the sake of Sama, but for all Palestinian prisoners. Grassroots pressure can “use the case of Sama to talk about all Palestinian women prisoners, and how this is unlawful under international law, and against American laws,” she added.

Sama’s case should also serve to highlight the worsening conditions in the occupied West Bank, Farsakh said: the increasing annexation, ethnic cleansing, and fragmentation that are part of Israel’s intensifying settler-colonial project.

“This is an attack on freedom of education, freedom of expression, freedom of association,” Farsakh said. “[Israel] doesn’t want people to organize, to talk, to socialize; they want them separated, and to leave the country.”

“I think it’s really a concerted effort to crush the new generation of Palestinian leaders.”