The Israeli national flag flutters as apartments are seen in the background in the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the West Bank, Aug. 18, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

In early September, US officials in Jerusalem and Washington prepared a draft statement attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning plans by the UK, France, and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The Sept. 8 dated document, previously unreported and which two sources said was driven by David Milstein, an influential aide to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, proposed that Rubio describe the countries’ actions as a series of hostile measures against Israel that contribute to antisemitism.

“These tactics unacceptably draw from the playbook of the antisemitic boycotts, divestments, and sanctions movement,” the draft document, reviewed by Reuters, said.

The statement was never released.

According to three people familiar with the matter, the statement was not supported by the White House and the State Department’s senior leadership.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity.

Instead, speaking to reporters on Sept. 8 in Florida before traveling to Latin America, Rubio refrained from outright criticism of the decision or any particular country.

“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did. We saw their announcement today, but I don’t have any comment on it right now,” Rubio said.

The episode illustrates a widening divide between the White House and Trump’s senior diplomats in Israel about how best to respond to the expansion of Israeli settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

It also highlights a growing ideological split within the American right over support for Israel, with polling showing younger Republicans holding an increasingly unfavorable opinion of Washington’s closest Middle East ally.

President Donald Trump earlier this year expressed his opposition to settlement expansion, a growing source of friction with Israel’s Arab neighbors, but his administration has put little pressure on Israel to change its policy.

That has at times put him at odds with Huckabee, a Baptist minister who is a staunch supporter of settlements and who refers to the West Bank by its ancient biblical and historical name, Judea and Samaria, a term used by the Israeli government but not formally adopted by the US.

Huckabee’s aide Milstein last year advocated that the US impose sanctions on the entire International Criminal Court to convince it to drop war crimes charges against Israeli leaders over the Gaza war – a measure the Trump administration has yet to deploy.

In response to questions from Reuters, a senior US official said the draft statement was not prepared in consultation with the State Department or White House.

The US embassy referred questions, including requests for comment from Huckabee and Milstein, to the State Department.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

US PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL QUESTIONED

US public backing for Israel has fallen since the Gaza war began in 2023, particularly among Democrats. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16% and 20% when the question was first asked in 2017.

While large majorities of Republicans aged 50 and older view Israel positively, younger conservative Americans have grown more critical, a Pew Research Center poll from late March showed. Some 57% of Republicans aged 18-49 have an unfavorable opinion of Israel, up from 50% a year previously.

In December last year, Trump said that he and Netanyahu, whose government has overseen a rapid expansion of settlements, did not fully agree on the West Bank following a meeting with the Israeli leader. That September, Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the territory.

Much of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-governance, illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area. It says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Defenders of Israel also note that, while about one-fifth of the country’s population is Arab and enjoys equal rights, Palestinian law forbids selling any land to Israelis.

Violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the territory has risen sharply this year, some of them emboldened by support from Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which includes ministers who are themselves settlers.

Huckabee has publicly condemned the violence and called for perpetrators to be prosecuted. He has also said violent settlers were a minority and do not represent the wider settler community.

The violence remains smaller in scale than Palestinian terrorism targeting Israelis. Of the approximately 530,000 Jews living beyond the Green Line in the West Bank, a mere 70 are accused of engaging in violent organizing against Palestinian residents and around 300 others are considered to be involved.

However, senior Israeli security officials have increasingly warned that it nevertheless constitutes a distinct threat to Israeli security and the settlement enterprise itself.

Some 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, territory Palestinians have fought for a future state, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem.