Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested Tuesday the U.S. could retaliate against the U.K. over new trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements, a further escalation between London and Washington hours ahead of an expected policy rollout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will make a statement in the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon and is expected to impose a ban on the trade of goods and some services from Israeli settlements, having last month condemned Israel\u2019s plans for 1,200 new homes in the E1 area east of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Huckabee, who over the weekend condemned the government\u2019s \u201cJew hate\u201d despite Miliband being Jewish, told the BBC that the decision would be a \u201cdiscrimination against the Jewish people.\u201d He also suggested that individual U.S. states \u2014 specifically Florida \u2014 might take trade action against the U.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huckabee\u2019s comments came after Florida Congressman Randy Fine warned on X<\/a> that sanctions would effectively \u201cban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida\u201d under state law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The diplomat\u2019s comments will unnerve British exporters, who are already navigating an increasingly fragile trading relationship with the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n