{
  "id": 9409624,
  "title": "US officials drafted memo condemning UK’s West Bank trade ban, but never released it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/us-officials-drafted-memo-condemning-uks-west-bank-trade-ban-but",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T20:30:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Times of Israel",
    "slug": "the-times-of-israel",
    "url": "https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-officials-drafted-memo-condemning-uks-west-bank-trade-ban-but-never-released-it/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "US officials drafted a memo condemning the UK's ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The draft statement, attributed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described the ban as a hostile measure that contributes to antisemitism. According to the Jerusalem Post, the memo was driven by David Milstein, an aide to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.\n\nThe memo proposed that Rubio criticize the UK, France, and Canada for their plans to block imports from Israeli settlements. However, the White House and State Department's senior leadership did not support the statement, and it was never released. Rubio instead declined to comment on the decision when speaking to reporters on September 8.\n\nThe episode highlights a divide between the White House and Trump's senior diplomats in Israel. The reports did not provide further details on the current status of the trade ban or its impact.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Arutz Sheva - Israel National News",
        "title": "Israeli Amb. to US Yechiel Leiter returns to Israel after son injured in terror attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/israeli-amb-to-us-yechiel-leiter-returns-to-israel-after-son-injured",
        "published": "2026-09-23T17:01:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Middle East Eye",
        "title": "Israel's US envoy says son was injured in occupied West Bank",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/israels-us-envoy-says-son-was-injured-in-occupied-west-bank",
        "published": "2026-09-23T18:12:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "US lawmakers seek sanctions for Israel’s ‘E1’ West Bank settlement plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/us-lawmakers-seek-sanctions-for-israels-e1-west-bank-settlement-plan",
        "published": "2026-09-23T18:48:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Son of Israel’s ambassador to US seriously injured in ramming attack in the occupied West Bank",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/son-of-israels-ambassador-to-us-seriously-injured-in-ramming-attack",
        "published": "2026-09-23T19:06:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Haaretz",
        "title": "Under Israel's right-wing government, West Bank land marketing and housing starts plunge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/under-israels-right-wing-government-west-bank-land-marketing-and",
        "published": "2026-09-23T20:06:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "US drafted memo condemning UK over West Bank sanctions, but it was never released - report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/us-drafted-memo-condemning-uk-over-west-bank-sanctions-but-it-was",
        "published": "2026-09-23T20:20:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Sky News",
        "title": "Son of Israeli ambassador to US 'seriously injured' in West Bank ramming attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/son-of-israeli-ambassador-to-us-seriously-injured-in-west-bank",
        "published": "2026-09-23T20:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "U.S. drafted unreleased memo condemning U.K. over West Bank sanctions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/u-s-drafted-unreleased-memo-condemning-u-k-over-west-bank-sanctions",
        "published": "2026-09-23T22:17:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}