Badenoch: Labour is ‘singling out Israel’ with West Bank trade sanctions
Tory leader's spokesperson says 'there are a lot of countries doing things that this country would feel is not entirely alright'
Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of “singling out Israel for their own internal political reasons” ahead of the government’s expected announcement of tough new sanctions on West Bank settlement trade.
Asked by Jewish News for the Tory leader’s view on Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s expected move to target settlement trade, Badenoch’s spokesperson said she believes “there are a lot of countries doing things that this country would feel is not entirely alright.”
Reflecting Badenoch’s stance on UK sanctions, the spokesperson added: “It is interesting that the Labour government always feels the need to single out Israel. And I would suggest that’s for their own internal political reasons.”
On Wednesday, Downing Street said it would not respond to “speculation” regarding Israel’s threat to retaliate against any UK sanctions.
A spokesperson for Andy Burnham told Jewish News: “We have been consistently clear that illegal settlements threaten the viability of a Palestinian state and undermine security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
“We want to see an end to the appalling suffering in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, and a resumption of the peace process to deliver a two-state solution.”
Jewish News understands that a small number of Labour MPs have expressed their opposition to sanctions targeting West Bank settlements, both to No.10 and officials within the FCDO.
However, claims of a split within the party are wide of the mark, with the vast majority of MPs in favour of the move.