Attorneys general from 13 US states warn UK and Netherlands over Israel sanctions

Attorneys general from a group of US states have warned the governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands that they could act against them unless the two countries withdraw new sanctions imposed on Israel. Israeli journalist Amit Segal reported on his Telegram channel that the state officials said they may pursue remedies against the two countries, arguing that the sanctions cause economic damage to their own companies as well as to Israeli ones.

The Telegram news channel Abu Ali Express, following up on Segal's report the same morning, gave more detail. According to Abu Ali Express, the warning came in a letter signed by attorneys general from 13 Republican-governed states, led by Brenna Bird, the attorney general of Iowa. The channel said the officials warned of American retaliatory steps if London and Amsterdam's governments did not back away from the economic measures, which it described as sanctions placed on Israeli businesses operating in Judea and Samaria, the term used in Israel for the West Bank.

Who the attorneys general are

In the United States, each state has its own attorney general, the state's chief legal officer. The office enforces state law, represents the state in court and can bring actions on behalf of the state and its residents. Attorneys general are separate from the federal government in Washington, and the reports do not describe any role for the federal administration in this letter.

Brenna Bird, named by Abu Ali Express as the letter's lead author, holds that office in Iowa. The channel said all 13 signatories come from states controlled by the Republican Party.

What the sanctions are, according to the reports

The reports describe the measures only briefly. Segal and the Israeli news channel News.co.il both refer to them as new sanctions on Israel. Abu Ali Express is more specific, saying they target Israeli businesses in Judea and Samaria, the Hebrew name for the territory widely known internationally as the West Bank. In Hebrew this area is often shortened to an acronym, which is the form the channel used.

News.co.il reported that the officials argued the sanctions harm American companies that do business with Israel, a point that also appears in Segal's account. That economic argument is the basis the reports give for state officials, rather than national governments, taking up the issue.

How the reports describe the threat

The three organisations characterise the warning in somewhat different terms, and none of them quotes the letter's language directly in the material available to us.

• Amit Segal wrote that the attorneys general may take remedies against the two countries.
• News.co.il said they warned they could take legal steps.
• Abu Ali Express described the warning as one of American retaliatory measures.

The reports also differ on how many states are involved. Segal referred to a series of states and News.co.il to several, while Abu Ali Express gave the figure of 13. Abu Ali Express said it would publish selected passages from the letter, but those extracts are not part of the reports we have.

Where this fits

News.co.il presented the letter as a new front in support of Israel, opened by American officials outside the federal government. The reports frame it as a response to recent European measures aimed at Israeli economic activity in the West Bank, with Britain and the Netherlands named as the two governments that imposed them. Abu Ali Express said both countries had introduced their sanctions recently, without giving dates.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports includes a response from the British or Dutch governments, or from the Israeli government. They do not specify what remedies, legal actions or retaliatory steps the attorneys general have in mind, or under what authority they would be taken. The reports do not list the 13 states beyond Iowa, name any American companies said to be affected, or describe the scope of the British and Dutch sanctions in detail. The full text of the letter has not been published in the material available to us.