The Times: Israel may cut security ties with Britain if it recognizes Palestine

The British newspaper The Times said that Israel is considering withdrawing its defense and security cooperation with the United Kingdom if British Prime Minister Keir Starmer proceeds with recognizing the Palestinian state, in a move to pressure London and push it to change its position. Unnamed diplomatic sources told the newspaper that Benjamin Netanyahu's government is considering this response as one of a range of options if Britain proceeds with recognizing Palestine next month, while an official warned Britain and other countries considering diplomatic recognition to "carefully study the consequences of such a step," as he put it.

Another diplomatic source told the newspaper, "London should be careful because Bibi (Netanyahu) and his ministers have cards they can play as well. Israel values its partnership with the United Kingdom, but recent decisions mean it is under pressure, and the United Kingdom has a lot to lose if the Israeli government decides to take steps in response to that."

Israel rejected Starmer's decision, accusing him of giving Hamas "a reward for terrorism" if he proceeds with recognizing the Palestinian state "outside the peace process and before the release of the remaining hostages," as it claimed. Starmer stated that Britain will recognize the State of Palestine next month unless Israel allows more aid to enter Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire, and participates in a long-term peace process.

It is not excluded that these unidentified officials are directly linked to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has pursued such a policy over the past two years with a number of media outlets around the world to pass on certain messages. The officials' statements, which were published in The Times newspaper on Thursday evening, came after Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he intends to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, before the Ministerial Cabinet "the Cabinet" approved Netanyahu's plan to occupy the Strip.

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While a British government spokesman declined to comment "on anonymously sourced speculation on intelligence matters," experts warned that withdrawing defense and security cooperation with Britain would have significant economic and security implications for both countries. The newspaper spoke of the cooperation provided by Israeli intelligence and "its provision of highly important information to British intelligence agencies about Iranian-backed threats in the United Kingdom" at a time when Britain is witnessing significant threats such as Russian threats. It also spoke of the United Kingdom's use of Israeli-made drones in surveillance operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, praising their contribution to preserving the lives of British soldiers in both countries.

Defense cooperation is also well-established between the two countries; Israeli companies sell weapons systems, spare parts, and software to British companies such as BAE Systems. Israeli companies are also deeply integrated into British defense industry supply chains and represent a significant part of the overall trade partnership between the two countries, which is worth six billion pounds and supports 38,000 jobs, according to The Times.

The newspaper said that members of the Israeli government are divided on whether relations with Britain should be cut, while warning that this would negatively affect the Israeli economy because its exports far outweigh its imports, and would end the assistance provided by the British army to operate Royal Air Force aircraft over Gaza to help find the missing Israeli detainees.

The Israeli embassy in London warned that any recognition of a Palestinian state is in fact "a reward for Hamas," but it refrained from commenting on the study of intelligence relations until September, according to the newspaper, while an official at the embassy said, "This unhelpful step will certainly not contribute to deepening mutually beneficial relations between Israel and those who promote this agenda of bad faith." The newspaper quoted experts as saying that Israel will not proceed with its plans to halt defense cooperation given the extent of mutual intelligence sharing, as well as the economic situation and its intelligence implications, amid expectations that it will use it as a threat in an attempt to force a change in their position on recognizing the Palestinian state.