Ed Miliband is facing fresh tensions with the US today after one of Donald Trump‘s key ambassadors accused him of ‘losing it’ over Gaza.
Mike Huckabee, the American envoy to Israel, said the UK Government was engaging in ‘Jew hate’.
The extraordinary intervention came after Mr Miliband – who is Jewish – posted a video on social media condemning the ‘horrific’ situation in Gaza and vowing to ‘act decisively’.
Andy Burnham is believed to be preparing to announce sanctions on Israel as soon as this week, with a tougher approach a key demand of many on the Labour Left.
Trade with settlements in the West Bank – a separate area of disputed territory – could be banned despite warnings from the US administration against taking such action.
Ed Miliband is facing fresh tensions with the US today after one of Donald Trump’s key ambassadors accused him of ‘losing it’ over Gaza
Mike Huckabee, the American envoy to Israel , said the UK Government was engaging in ‘Jew hate’
Mr Huckabee was responding to a video posted by Mr Miliband on social media
Rubble in Gaza, which was devastated in clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas
In his video on Instagram yesterday, Mr Miliband said he had just come out of a meeting with people who had been in Gaza and it was ‘horrific what is unfolding’.
‘The stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment,’ Mr Miliband said.
‘When you hear that account of what is happening you know that we as a UK government, as the PM has said, have got to act and act more decisively than we have.’
However, responding to the video Mr Huckabee said: ‘The Brits have lost it. The Jew hate of their government knows no boundaries and knows no facts.’
Israel’s foreign ministry also criticised Mr Miliband, saying: ‘If the Foreign Secretary were interested in facts rather than stories, he would know that there are no restrictions whatsoever on the entry of medicines into the Gaza Strip, and that no medicines are being blocked; that 22,500 tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since the ceasefire began; and that Gazans exit the Strip for medical treatment, including 200 who did so in just the last two weeks.’
Mr Burnham has teed up his first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, potentially as soon as this month.
The PM is expected to travel to New York for the UN general assembly, although it is not clear whether he would see the president there or make a stop in Washington.
New shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has warned that the sanctions on West Bank settlements could undermine Britain’s national security.
Mr Burnham has teed up his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump (pictured), potentially as soon as this month
The Tory MP told The Telegraph: ‘It’s worth remembering that Israel is one of our most important intelligence partners, and has been for many, many years.
‘I can tell you, as security minister, a lot of incidents did not happen because of co-operation with intelligence sources in Israel, who helped us to protect British people from terror attacks.
‘Now, the first job of the British Government is the protection of the British people, and one of the things I am absolutely clear on, is that leading Britain’s foreign policy is about protecting our people first.’
