Muted US response to UK's West Bank sanctions may reflect simmering frustration - BBC News

The UK accuses Israel's government of turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians by settlers.

Image source, Getty ImagesByTom Bateman State department correspondentPublished9 September 2026As the UK unveiled sanctions against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Israel responded with fury, declaring it would shutter Britain's diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, kick out UK military staff from an international coordination base near Gaza and ban nearly a dozen left-wing British members of parliament from entering Israel.

It was a blaring signal of defiance and a remarkable diplomatic escalation.

The UK had taken the action arguing it had a moral imperative to stop the "destruction" of the two-state solution - a future independent Palestinian state - at the hands of the Israeli government. It accused Israel's government of turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians by settlers.

The standoff, which by the afternoon extended to a further 11 mostly European countries set to join the settlement trade ban, raised a crucial question: When Israel becomes isolated, the US as its superpower backer often steps in to provide a diplomatic shield. Was the US, too, going to condemn Britain's policy?

Such a reprimand had been previewed by some observers. It felt even more likely when the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, appeared on the BBC before the UK announcement suggesting American "sanctions, repercussions or retaliations" could be coming for Britain, albeit that he didn't know what these were and hadn't spoken to President Trump.