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Burnham strongly defends sanctions on Israel over settlements at press conference with Trump
President says Burnham 'very strong' in his condemnation of antisemitism
Andy Burnham has strongly defended his government’s decision to impose sanctions on Israel over West Bank settlements during a press conference alongside Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister cited the announcement of tenders for expansion of the E1 West Bank corridor project for the decision to act this month, warning that it would “make a two-state solution non-viable.”
Speaking after their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the US president was asked for his view of the UK’s move.
He insisted, “I don’t know about the move,” before deferring to the UK Prime Minister to respond.
Burnham first recalled that he and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband had alerted Trump to the decision in a phone call the previous day.
He added, “I take this view on this issue.
“We’ve all spoken over the years about the importance of a two-state solution.
“If we face a situation where there’s a tender to put settlements on the West Bank that, in effect, make a two-state solution non-viable, what do we do?
“Because if we do nothing, then it further erodes people’s trust in politics. They think, well, you all talk, but when it comes to action, you’re not prepared to follow up on that talk and do something.”
Burnham then added, “You know, we condemn the Hamas attacks on 7th of October completely, and we will challenge antisemitism wherever we see it.”
Trump agreed, saying he had heard “very strong condemnation” of Jew-hate when he spoke with the Prime Minister.
Burnham then said Miliband had brought forward “targeted action” on “banning the import of goods from the settlements, because at the end of the day, you have to have meaning behind your words; otherwise, trust in politics further evaporates.”
During the meeting, Burnham claimed he had “established a good connection” with Trump, adding that the pair had “taken that further today” as they discussed trade, energy, and immigration, among other topics.
Relations between the US and the UK are “more up” now that Burnham is PM than when Starmer held the role, Trump also claimed.
The PM also stressed that Britain has a “positive story” to tell about itself, in an attempt to draw a line under 10 years of post-Brexit turbulence, in his UN debut.
Israel has rejected claims that in conversations with Miliband in August his counterpart Gideon Sa’ar had initially said he said it would halt construction in E1, which effectively cuts off Palestinian territorial continuity between Ramallah and Bethlehem and would connect Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem.
The conversation was described in reports as “tense,” and three sources, including one who spoke to Jewish News, claimed that Sa’ar “clearly hinted” in the conversation that no construction tenders would be opened for the area before the elections on October 27.
A week after the conversation, Israel announced the construction of an additional 1,200 housing units in E1.
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