Trump administration offers rare muted response on new sanctions against Israel

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump and his top foreign policy aide, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have not condemned the United Kingdom, France, Canada and others for their planned sanctions on settlements in the occupied West Bank – a notable development from the self-described “most pro-Israel” administration in history.

Their ultimate position on the new sanctions remains unclear, current and former US officials told CNN. Still, the lack of condemnation thus far is notable, particularly given the administration’s past policies towards Israel and the Palestinian territories – such as the removal of sanctions on violent West Bank settlers – and the warnings from the top US diplomat in Israel.

On Wednesday, asked about the sanctions, Trump took an uncharacteristically reserved tone, saying that he would be “speaking to Israel.”

“I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden does that happen?” he told reporters. The UK briefed the US, including in a call from Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Trump, ahead of the Tuesday announcement, sources said.

The sources suggested Trump and Rubio’s reaction may indicate discomfort with Israeli policies in the West Bank. Despite Trump saying that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, Israel has only entrenched its control of the territory, expanding settlements and seizing territory.

Though the Trump administration is highly unlikely to levy sanctions against Israel, the lack of condemnation from the top of the administration in the days since the sanctions were announced is piquing interest from US diplomats and US allies alike, said sources, who wonder if Trump may land in favor of taking some action. Even the smallest measures against settlements would mark a major rift between Israel and its key ally, the United States, as it faces growing isolation from the international community.

Backing the sanctions, or even a continued lack of condemnation, may signal Trump’s mounting frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who faces an election next month.

However, sources say a response ultimately boils down to how Trump wants to respond – and it may be strategic, as the administration navigates a continued backing of Israel externally with growing internal discontent about the situation in the West Bank.

Rubio, who also declined to comment or condemn the new sanctions, nodded to that frustration on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to see anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region. We think it has implications as well on our ability to make progress with regards to Gaza and the 20-point plan and Board of Peace that we’re very committed to,” he told reporters.

“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did,” Rubio said, but added, “We were made aware that they were going to make this decision. We heard their arguments as to why.”

When asked for commment the White House referred CNN to Trump’s Wednesday comments.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said the lack of initial condemnation “represents at least some degree of recognition on the part of the administration that the violence by Israeli extremists at the West Bank, and the statements and actions of the extremist ministers in the Israeli government are becoming problematic.”

The brief comments from Trump and Rubio stand in contrast to those from Amb. Mike Huckabee, who accused the British government of “Jew hate” – despite the foreign secretary being Jewish – and warned ahead of the UK’s announcement that it could have a “huge impact on British businesses.”

Those remarks had not been coordinated with the White House or the State Department, a White House official said.

A former senior US official told CNN that Huckabee’s “reaction was consistent with his own views, as expressed for decades, about Israel and about settlements and about the West Bank.”

“It’s probably what he expected, because many people would have expected that that would have been the administration’s initial response, based on their history and the views they’ve previously expressed,” they noted.

In the early days of Trump’s second term, the administration lifted sanctions imposed under the Biden administration on violent Israeli settlers. The US, unlike international partners, has not publicly condemned Israel’s plans to advance the E1 settlement project, which effectively divides the West Bank into north and south, making a contiguous Palestinian state virtually impossible. E1 also splits East Jerusalem – the envisioned capital of a future Palestinian state – from the rest of the territory.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has explicitly championed the expansion of settlement as a way to “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” Smotrich said when E1 received its final approval. Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war. Both are considered occupied territories under international law, and Israeli settlements there are widely regarded as illegal.

Shapiro, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that when it comes to the violence in the West Bank, “that’s something that Trump has leverage to force Netanyahu’s hand with a fairly limited action because of the election.”

Netanyahu “badly wants Trump’s support, explicit if possible, implicit if not, and certainly doesn’t want him to make some expression that suggests Trump thinks things would be better with a different government,” he told CNN. “I think Trump’s got a lot of leverage, but I don’t think he’s really used it yet.”

Another former senior US official expressed doubt that Netanyahu would rein in the settlers in before the election.

This former official called the planned sanctions “a warning shot.” Another US official questioned whether they will be effective.

“These sanctions coming now are rallying people around Israel and somewhat around Netanyahu, giving credence to his argument that the world is against us now,” they said.

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