Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman launched harsh criticism against the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway after they issued sanctions against Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for "undermining a future Palestinian state."
"I don’t believe in a two-state solution," Friedman declared. "Neither does the US Ambassador to Israel. Neither do many others within the Trump Administration (although they can speak for themselves)."
He added: "For that matter, neither do tens of millions of American citizens. Should we all expect sanctions from the UK, France, Australia, Canada, etc? Bring it on!"
The governments of the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway officially announced Monday that they will impose sanctions on Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of incitement to violence against Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
The UK Foreign Office stated that the decision was made as part of a wider move to address what it described as "extremist settler violence", an accusation that has been debunked by a Regavim report, and the undermining of a future Palestinian Arab state.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the decision on Tuesday, stating: "The United States condemns the sanctions imposed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia on two sitting members of the Israeli cabinet. These sanctions do not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.
“We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace. We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is,” he added.
“The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel,” clarified Rubio.