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The Prime Minister told the US President in a phone call tonight
Andy Burnham has been left bracing for a row with Donald Trump after pushing ahead with imposing sanctions on Israel.
The Prime Minister, who also risks a backlash from Labour MPs, will fast-track a trade ban against Israeli settlements in the West Bank tomorrow.
The sanctions are not thought to include financial restrictions on specific individuals or companies.
Mr Burnham is expected to say that Britain will not stand back and accept the “destruction of the two-state solution”.
The announcement comes in response to Israeli plans to open tenders for the construction of 1,200 settler homes in a key area of the West Bank known as E1.
However, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband had already confirmed plans for sanctions on Israel as part of a "comprehensive reset" in relations.
Mr Burnham told Mr Trump about his plan to slap sanctions on Israel in a phone call tonight.
A No10 spokeswoman said: “On the Middle East, the Prime Minister set out the UK's commitment to working towards peace and security in the region, stressing the importance of the Two-State Solution, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon."
The White House is now expected to make a statement attacking Mr Burnham's decision.
Israeli ministers will likely retaliate against the sanctions, which will be announced while Labour fights a by-election against the Green Party in Holborn & St Pancras.
The Netherlands was blocked from participating in the Gaza peace process after announcing similar sanctions in August.
Tom Keatinge, a sanctions expert who leads the centre for finance and security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the expected new package could deter British banks from trading with Israel at all.
He told The Telegraph: “Whatever a civil servant or politician might say, there’s no such thing as a smart sanction, just like there’s no such thing as a smart bomb. The room for interpretation is enormous.”
Labour MPs have been left divided on how to respond to events in the Middle East.
MPs connected to the Labour Friends of Israel group said there is a risk the trade ban will become a “de facto boycott” of the world's only Jewish state.
“The risk is that what are intended to be targeted sanctions could have quite messy knock-on implications,” one Labour MP told The Telegraph. "It will end up with a boycott of most stuff from Israel.”
However, more than 140 Labour MPs have signed a letter calling on the Prime Minister to ban trade with Israeli settlements.
Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, last week accused Labour of "Jew hate" and claimed "the Brits have lost it" after Mr Miliband posted a video suggesting medicine deliveries were blocked from entering to Gaza.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We completely reject that assertion.
"We’re committed to protecting Jewish communities in the UK and continue to engage with community leaders and groups.”
Downing Street also confirmed Mr Burnham has not spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since entering No10 on July 20.
During the Labour leadership race of 2015, Mr Burnham said the first foreign trip he would make would be to Israel.
The then-Leigh MP, who later became Greater Manchester Mayor and MP for Makerfield, finished in a distant second place after losing out to Jeremy Corbyn.
However, Mr Burnham took a different stance on Israel shortly before becoming Prime Minister.
He said: “I know that many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right, and I am sorry about that.” He promised to “do better”.






