Andy Burnham has been warned anti-Israel sanctions could risk a trade war with Donald Trump.
Alarms have been raised after it was revealed the Prime Minister is set to announce a “robust” package of sanctions which could amount to a “de facto boycott” of Israel.
The Prime Minister has now been told by Labour MPs that if he pushes ahead with the plan he may face retaliatory measures from the White House.
The President has frequently dished out or threatened tariffs – engaging in a recent trade war with Canada after taxing exports including raw materials, toilet paper, hockey sticks, and cotton t-shirts.
Read Also: Italy unleashes 'octopus army' to battle devastating crab invasion
Read Also: Berlin police force faces recruitment crisis as 40% fail German-speaking test
Last month, Washington criticised Ireland for passing similar sanctions on Israel, warning of “unintended consequences” for hundreds of businesses, calling the move “unhelpful”.
And a full trade embargo with Spain has been threated, which last year banned goods being imported from Israeli settlements amid a wider row over the use of the country’s military bases.
One Labour MP told The Times: “Our trade and diplomatic relationship with the US is fragile enough as it is.
“We shouldn’t be naive enough to believe we could sanction Israel and not face any economic and political consequences from the White House, Congress or states with anti-BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) laws.”
Another admitted there was a “significant risk” of Washington tariffs being placed on countries banning goods from Israeli settlements.
US anti-boycott laws restrict companies and individuals from participating in anti-Israel boycotts not approved or sanctioned by Washington.
“There is a very big risk of Trump and the Israelis taking retaliatory measures,” a separate former Labour minister said.
“Our ministers need to weigh these risks very carefully before going ahead with gestures that might make their backbenchers and some voters feel better, but would not improve the plight of the Palestinians anyway.”
LATEST ISRAEL NEWS:
- Settler attacks continue on last Christian village in West Bank despite IDF declaring ‘closed military zone’
- Ex-PM Tony Blair holds meeting with Hamas leaders in Gaza
- Benjamin Netanyahu mocks the UK as ‘the Islamic Republic of Britain’
The Prime Minister wants to take a harder approach to Israel after it planned to open tenders for 1,200 settler homes in the West Bank, known as “E1”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has slammed the plan, calling it an “unacceptable and destructive act” that would “endanger the viability of a two-state solution”.
The issue of Israel has split the party – more than 140 Labour MPs, around a third of the party, have signed a letter in favour of the ban on Israeli settlement goods.
Andrew Pakes, the Labour MP for Peterborough, has urged the Government to introduce sanctions, saying: “If not now, when?”
“The moral imperative here [is] to keep alive the idea of a two-state solution,” he added.
But the Labour Friends of Israel have hit out at the plans, arguing that a blanket boycott of settlement trade would be “practically impossible” and supported only “calibrated steps against extremist settlers and extremist settler groups”.
Mansfield MP Steve Yemm warned that a broad trade ban could raise “serious questions” around enforceability, resulting in unintended consqeuences.
A Government spokesman has previously said illegal settlements “threaten the viability of a Palestinian state and undermine security for both Israelis and Palestinians”.
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter
