As U.K., 11 other nations say they'll sanction Israeli settlements, U.S. envoy warns of repercussions

London — The U.K. government announced Tuesday that it was joining 11 other nations with plans to sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move quickly drew a warning of repercussions from the U.S. ambassador in Israel, and Israel's own president called it "gross interference."

In a joint statement, the U.K., Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden said they would "introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures."

The countries said they were acting to safeguard the possibility of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel — the long-discussed two-state solution — which they said was being undermined by an "unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

U.K. Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said the British sanctions would target specific companies and individuals who provide services including construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion, as well as sanctions against individual settlers accused of violence against Palestinians.

"The set of measures I have announced represents a clear message to the government of Israel, to the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and to the world that we will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution," Miliband said. 

The measures would be passed within six to nine months, Miliband added

Following Miliband's speech, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced several Israeli countermeasures, including the closing of the British consulate in Jerusalem, halting British training for Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank and barring 12 elected British officials whom he accused of being "involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity," from entering Israel. 

None of the 12 British officials barred by Israel are members of the current U.K. government, though most are serving members of parliament. 

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned Tuesday that the U.K. could face a backlash from the U.S. if it follows through on the plan to sanction Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"I don't know if they're really aware of the implications and how it's going to affect Brits," Huckabee told CBS News' partner network BBC.

He noted that some U.S. states, including Florida, have laws mandating reciprocal measures against companies and businesses that comply with sanctions against Israel.

"That's gonna have a big impact," Huckabee said.

Goods from Israeli settlements, which are largely agricultural, represent a small percentage of overall Israeli trade with the U.K.

Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine said Tuesday in a social media post that U.K. sanctions on Israel would effectively "ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida" under state law.

Florida's trade with the U.K. is significant, worth around $4 billion last year according to state data. That figure pales in comparison to British trade with its European neighbors, however, and it represents a relatively small portion of the overall U.S.-U.K. trade figure, which is over $400 billion.

The planned U.K. sanctions targeting Israeli settlements come as Israel pushes forward plans to build in the E1 project, an area of the West Bank seen as crucial to establishing a contiguous Palestinian state in the future.

Israeli President Issac Herzog said sanctions against the settlements, by any nation, would be a "grave miscalculation" and a "gross interference" in Israeli politics, adding a claim that it would end up harming Palestinian laborers who work in the settlements.

"It will directly harm — unfortunately — Palestinians, robbing them of business and employment. And, ultimately, it will undermine the interests and national security of freedom-loving nations," Herzog said.