Israel |
United Kingdom |
Israel-United Kingdom relations refers to diplomatic and commercial ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. The United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Tel Aviv and consulates in Eilat[1] and Jerusalem. Israel has an embassy and a consulate in London.[2][3]
Contents |
Britain issued the pro-Zionist Balfour declaration in 1917 and spent 31 years ruling Palestine as a League of Nations Mandate until the 1948 war.[4] British-Israeli relations improved during the Suez Campaign in 1956.[5] In the Suez Crisis, Israel, France and the United Kingdom drew up plans to invade the Sinai Peninsula and gain control of the Suez Canal.[5] [6] In the 1950s and 1960s the UK was seen as pro-Arab, maintaining close relations with Jordan and the Gulf states.[4]
According to UK ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould, there is close cooperation between the British and Israeli governments on matters relating to Iran.[7]UK accepts de facto Israeli control of West Jerusalem but regards East Jerusalem as "occupied." [8]
Annual bilateral trade exceeds US$3 billion and over 300 known Israeli companies are operating in Britain.[9] While visiting Israel in November 2010, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called UK-Israel science and business ties "one of the cornerstones of the relationship between Britain and Israel." [10]
The Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange (BIRAX) was launched in 2008 to improve academic cooperation between universities in Israel and the UK.[11] BIRAX, created by the British Council in Israel in collaboration with Pears Foundation, brings together Israeli and British scientists through funding of joint research projects. In November 2010, ten British-Israeli research projects were selected to receive BIRAX funding. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague also announced the establishment of the UK-Israel Life Sciences Council to further scientific collaboration between the two countries.[10] The British Israeli Arts Training Scheme (BI ARTS) was established to improve links between the British and Israeli arts industries.[12]
In December 2009, an arrest warrant was issued by a British court for Tzipi Livni due to alleged war crimes committed during the 2009 Gaza War.[13] This strained the relations between Israel and the United Kingdom, and Israel urged the UK to alter its law to prevent further incidents of this kind.[14][15] Moshe Yaalon called off a visit to Britain because of such concerns.[16] Additionally, lawyers sought arrest of Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak [17] and an Israeli general, Doron Almog, escaped arrest because British police feared an armed confrontation at Heathrow airport.[18]
In February 2010, Israel was suspected of forging British passports for use in a mission to assassinate Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.[19] The ambassador of Israel was summoned for talks.[20] On 23 March 2010 the United Kingdom expelled an Israeli diplomat.[21] David Miliband stated that the UK saw it as a serious matter and misuse of British passports was intolerable. Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor said "The relationship between Israel and the UK is of mutual importance, hence we are disappointed by the... decision."[21] Miliband warned UK citizens against travel to Israel.[22]
UK government proposals to label products originating from the West Bank were criticized by Israel.[23][24]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||