Draft U.S. condemnation of West Bank measures was shelved

A draft U.S. statement condemning plans by the United Kingdom, France and Canada to restrict imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank was never issued after it failed to win support from the White House and senior State Department leadership, according to people familiar with its handling. The document, dated September 8 and attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, proposed describing the three countries’ measures as hostile to Israel and linking them to antisemitism and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The draft was reviewed by Reuters, according to the reports. Two people said David Milstein, an aide to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, drove the proposal. The accounts of the draft’s origins and internal opposition came from unnamed sources. A senior U.S. official separately said the statement had not been prepared in consultation with the White House or State Department. That response does not establish who initiated or circulated the draft, or independently confirm the unnamed sources’ account of opposition.