Image source, Getty Images

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tells the BBC’s Newsday programme that "I think without a doubt there will be" a US reaction if the UK goes ahead with expected trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Reaction could come at a state as well as a federal level, he suggests.

Doing "something like this with a partner, Israel" could have a "huge economic impact on British businesses", Huckabee says, adding that they could be "banned" from doing business "in a number of states" across the US.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to US President Donald Trump over the phone on Monday, during which the PM stressed the importance of a two-state solution in the Middle East.

An official account of the call released by No 10 did not specify that Burnham had briefed Trump on the sanctions.

Israel opened up tenders last month for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank.

Plans to build on the so-called E1 area - east of Jerusalem - have long been internationally condemned, with settlements illegal under international law and Israel holding off on plans to build in the area for decades.

However, the current Israeli government gave the go-ahead for E1 construction a year ago, expressly to "erase" the idea of a Palestinian state.

The tender issued by the housing ministry last month covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.

The development would in effect divide the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem, with many of Israel's allies and Palestinians arguing it would deal a major blow to hopes of a two-state solution.

Image source, Reuters

Last week, Ed Miliband said he would unveil a "comprehensive reset" of the British government's policy on Israel.

In his first speech to Parliament as foreign secretary, he said plans from Israel to build some 1,200 settlement homes in the so-called E1 area - east of Jerusalem - were "illegal under international law".

Miliband called the plans "the crossing of a red line, as it cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable".

The foreign secretary said last month the Israeli Chargé d'Affaires had been summoned to the Foreign Office, where he had "set out the UK's profound objection to this move by the Netanyahu government and demanded an immediate reversal".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded by saying it was "absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland".

He said: "The UK government's decision to damage the relationship between our countries is deeply unfortunate."

The West Bank is an area of land located, as the name would suggest, on the west bank of the River Jordan.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 people since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.

An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

Palestinians also want the land, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state.

Settlements are illegal under international law, and recent months have seen a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers.

Expansion has risen sharply since Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to power in 2022, as well as the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

A symbolic gesture - but a significant momentpublished at 07:05 BST

07:05 BST

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Ed Miliband is set to go further than any of his predecessors in targeting Jewish settlements in the West Bank – settlements successive British governments have described as illegal under international law and a barrier to peace.

It’s a significant moment, coming almost a year after Sir Keir Starmer’s government recognised the state of Palestine and said the UK had a moral responsibility to support a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.

The government believes the prospects for a two-state solution are being jeopardised by the rapid expansion of settlements.

It recognises that banning a relatively small quantity of mostly agricultural products is a largely symbolic gesture.

But Miliband is describing this as a major reset in Britain’s wider policy on Israel, while Andy Burnham has said he believes more pressure needs to be put on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

He’s already briefed President Trump on his plans. It’s not yet known what the president thinks.

Image source, Reuters

The UK government is expected to set out new restrictions on buying goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the BBC understands.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to outline the measures in the Commons today, which could include restrictions on trade in agricultural products from settlements.

Last week, Miliband said he would unveil a "comprehensive reset" of the British government's policy on Israel. BBC News has not seen the full details of the measures.

The Israeli government has previously warned it would retaliate if any new measures were introduced.

The US is also likely to oppose the proposals. Its ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has told the BBC’s Newsday programme he thinks there will "without a doubt" be a reaction from the US.

We’ll bring you the latest in the lead-up to the Commons statement.