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Israel - UK Relations

International opinion swung in favour of a separate Jewish state after the revelation of the holocaust. Britain conquered the territory then known as Trans-Joran from the Ottoman Empire during 1917-18. The campaigns fought by the Ottomans against the British in Palestine are often neglected in accounts of the Great War, yet they are fascinating from the point of view of military history and critically important because of their impact upon the modern Middle East.

On November 2, 1917, the British government, represented by Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour, declared that they were in favor of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." This short note would be one of the most controversial documents of its time, and one of the major events in the story of the Middle East. Within the imperial rivalries between Britain, Germany and the Ottomans, British policy in the region was part of a larger geopolitical game.

In 1917-18 Britain invaded Palestine and was granted a mandate under the League of Nations. Britain, however, had contradictory obligations to Arabs and Jews. The British had attempted to give Arab leaders the impression that their support during the war would be rewarded by independence in some form, when in fact the Balfour Declaration of 1917 promised to support Jewish claims for a 'National Home' in Palestine.

By 1939, anticipating another war in Europe, Britain looked to end the disturbances in Palestine and win over the support of independent Arab states. To meet these aims, it announced in a White Paper in May 1939 that the ‘Jewish national home’ had been fulfilled, that Jewish immigration to Palestine would be restricted to 75,000 over the following five years, whence it planned to establish Palestinian self-government, and full independence by 1949. The Jewish community of Palestine resisted these restrictions until the fall of France, when both sides found themselves in a life-or-death struggle with Germany.

Anticipating a potential German invasion of Palestine, Britain trained the Palmach (the strike force of the Haganah) and developed its wireless intelligence networks during the war. Haganah’s intelligence arm, the Shai, cooperated closely with British intelligence and the Palestine Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Consequently, Shai’s professional capabilities grew during the war as it helped Britain in its struggle against the Nazis and Italians, Jewish terrorists, Arab rebels, fifth columnists, and even communists. The Jewish services were also adept at HUMINT gathering.

In 1943, the Haganah and Palmach began to resist attempts by the government to disarm. A stalemate ensued until the end of the war, After the Second World War and the holocaust had ended, some 600,000 Jewish survivors needed a home but no western state was willing to take them. British authorities misconstrued how their power compared to that of the Yishuv as well as their Arab counterparts. The Yishuv wanted their independence from Britain, a desire fuelled by Zionist propaganda which painted British leaders as anti-semitic. The Yishuv offered sanctuary to the Jewish refugees and displaced persons – as it needed to expand Jewish settlements. Immigration was a critical catalyst for the emerging problems in the region.

The fascistic terrorist organisation Lehi (what Britain referred to as the Stern Gang) regularly assassinated members of the political police force in Palestine. From 1944, the radical Zionist dissident movement Irgun Zva’i Leumi relaunched its armed revolt against Britain after four years of ceasefire. Under the leadership of future Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the Irgun launched a bombing campaign which sought to destroy symbols of British power, bring an end to British rule, and thereby enable the rescue of remnants of European Jewry. Irgun’s campaign escalated. When Britain executed some of the Irgun members, Irgun reciprocated by hanging British soldiers.

Seeking to stem the Jewish terrorist campaign in Palestine, the British Army closed the Jewish Agency, arrested much of its leadership and some of Haganah’s command, and confiscated tonnes of documents in Operation AGATHA on the 29th June 1946. Irgun retaliated by bombing the British headquarters at the King David Hotel on the 22nd July 1946, killing 91 British personnel and civilians.

The British Government coordinated a joint Jewish-Arab conference in London in September 1946 which ended in deadlock. The Palestinian position had not changed since the revolt. The Jewish Agency refused to participate with its staff in detention camps. As tens of thousands of would-be illegal immigrants were held in British camps in Cyprus and Palestine, Britain admitted in early 1947 that it could not manage these problems on its own and referred the Palestine problem to the United Nations. Later that year, Britain announced its intention to leave Palestine by 1948, and the UN voted to partition the country into Jewish and Arab states. On the 15th May 1948 Britain formally ceded its Mandate, and the state of Israel was formed.

In November 2021, the British government and the Israeli government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding elevating the UK-Israel bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership. This represented a signal of intent for both countries to cohere, deepen and expand cooperation across our mutual priorities for our mutual benefit. This roadmap outlines how this strategic partnership will continue to serve collective interests. This roadmap, which defines bilateral cooperation until 2030, will serve as a ‘living’ document. Through regular high-level engagement, the bilateral relationship would continue to evolve as a more modern, innovative and forward-looking strategic partnership.

The strategic partnership is underpinned by extensive security and defence cooperation that continue to safeguard the UK and Israel’s national security. Throughout this roadmap, Israel and the UK will continue to cooperate, both bilaterally and through international fora, jointly to counter global challenges and threats. We will cooperate in improving Palestinian livelihoods and Palestinian economic development. They remain united in a r shared concern towards Iran’s nuclear activities and tackling Iran’s destabilising and malign activity in the Middle East, whether engaged in directly or through proxies and terrorist groups.

The UK joined Israel in acknowledging the historic significance of the Abraham Accords. which have the potential to enable profound advancements for security, co-existence, prosperity and peace for the region and its peoples. The UK will work with Israel to both deepen and expand these developments, and build upon the progress of the historic Negev Summit, in March 2022 to explore opportunities for regional cooperation and development in coordination with the emerging regional architecture in both security and civilian spheres.

The UK and Israel enjoy a close strategic partnership, with extensive defence and security cooperation to tackle shared threats, protect mutual security interests and develop stronger capabilities. For both the UK and Israel, this is one of the most important defence and security relationships, encompassing a broad range of activities to work together to keep people safe from cyber, criminal and terrorist threats.

The UK and Israel have a strong and evolving defence relationship through strategic dialogue and professional working groups between the defence ministries and an agreement for military cooperation signed by the respective Chiefs of Defence in December 2020. It brings together defence engagement activity between the 2 countries, covering a range of topics including defence medical training, organisational design concepts and defence education. It also enshrines ongoing joint training and exercises that will continue to benefit both countries through strengthening military ties.

Force build-up, research and development includes joint research and development to identify transformational defence and security capabilities in order to tackle shared threats.

Counter-terrorism (CT) dialogue strengthens cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally designated terrorists and terrorist entities. This will ensure a coordinated approach to CT issues that impact both countries’ national security, including what steps will be taken to counter entities and individuals involved in terrorism.

The two countries work closely to counter the current threat from Iran, including the IRGC. They will work to ensure Iran never has nuclear weapon capabilities; seek to counter Iran’s destabilising regional activity, including weapons transfers, conducted either by itself or through proxies; and confront the threat posed to us both domestically. We support a stable, secure and peaceful region where all can benefit from the rapid advances taking place and closer social, economic and technological ties.