Trump says he wants to know why ‘all of a sudden’ the UK and others sanctioned settlements

Asked by a reporter about the recent decisions by the UK, France and Canada to sanction West Bank settlements, US President Donald Trump says he will speak to Israel as well as those countries to learn more about the decision.

He is asked if the US opposes the sanctions, and does not give a direct answer.

“I’ll be speaking to Israel, I’ll be speaking to them, and I’ll find out what’s their thinking,” he says. I understand exactly what’s going on but I want to find out why, all of a sudden, has that happened.”

????WATCH: Trump on the sanctions from the UK on Israel: “I'll be speaking to Israel, I'll be speaking to them, and I'll find out what they're thinking…I understand what's going on. But I want to find out why all of a sudden has that happened." pic.twitter.com/Og5sKI1Y2F

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) September 9, 2026

While Trump claims he just saw the announcement and that he doesn’t know what sparked it, a Western official told The Times of Israel that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham actually briefed him on the sanctions package ahead of time and that the US president did not caution against it.

Burnham also publicly laid out what led his government to announce the sanctions on Tuesday, highlighting unchecked settler violence as well as Israel’s recent advancement of the highly controversial E1 settlement construction project.