Miliband: UK-Israel intelligence sharing to continue despite settlement ban

Israel announces consulate closure in East Jerusalem, bars 12 MPs

Britain’s ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements drew support this week from Canada and France, with eight other European countries signalling they will pursue parallel measures within the European Union. The measures, announced Tuesday, are not due to come into force for at least six months.

Ed Miliband, the UK foreign secretary, told reporters Wednesday that British intelligence had received assurances from its Israeli counterpart that information sharing would continue unchanged. The Guardian reported that Israeli intelligence had been unwilling to become entangled in any political dispute between the two governments, and that the exchanges of information are seen as mutually beneficial. Miliband said UK intelligence sharing had not aided the Israeli occupation or its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

France’s decision to join the British initiative was formalised during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to London on 3 September, when he met Prime Minister Andy Burnham and viewed the Bayeux tapestry at the British Museum, the Guardian reported. The paper said France moved after a Franco-Swedish proposal to the EU27 in April, which sought an embargo or tariff on products from the occupied territories, made little progress amid resistance from Germany, Italy and Bulgaria, with the European Commission also raising objections.

Speaking on Sky News on Wednesday, Miliband said: “We obviously talked to the Americans in advance of our announcement. I think the whole international community, let me say this, has been quite frustrated, to put it mildly, with some of the actions of the Israeli government.”

“There is real concern about what is happening … underlying so much of the conflicts in the Middle East is this failure to really grasp the situation between Israel and Palestine,” Miliband added. “It’s in our interest to act not just because it’s standing up for our values, but because it’s in our interests to have this two state solution as a rock of stability in the Middle East.”

According to the Guardian, Miliband expressed confidence that the United States shared some of his concern about Israel’s reluctance to constrain settlers in the West Bank or to engage fully with the 20-point plan for Gaza set out by Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The United States has not publicly criticised the UK actions. The paper reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was careful not to endorse the UK sanctions but affirmed he shared the objective of securing greater stability.

The Guardian reported that the US non-opposition follows conversations between Trump and Burnham on Monday and prior exchanges at lower levels. The paper said Trump, now focused on midterm elections, “appears reluctant to leap to the aid of” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Guardian also reported that Netanyahu had persuaded Trump to go to war against Iran — a decision the paper said had left oil prices close to $100 a barrel and contributed to a threatened “blue wave” that could leave Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate. The paper noted cross-party concern in the US at the violent tactics adopted by some Israeli settlers.

In a parallel move this week, Miliband announced fresh nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, targeting Iranian ships involved in what the foreign secretary described as “malign behaviour.” The UK is also backing a UN motion stating Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. The new sanctions extend to energy, software, metals, gold and related activities such as shipping, insurance and banking; most Iranian aircraft are prohibited from landing in the UK.

Ahead of Miliband’s statement, the Guardian reported, Trump had been hinting that he might support the Argentinian claim to sovereignty over the Falklands, a proposal the paper said had been mooted by Netanyahu’s son.

Israel has announced steps it will take in response to the UK trade ban. The Guardian reported that Israel said it would close the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel, terminate the UK’s role in training Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank, and deny entry to twelve mainly leftwing British MPs. The UK, along with Jordan, will hold a meeting on improving humanitarian supplies into Gaza at the UN General Assembly later this month.