UNITED KINGDOM/ISRAEL: Following plans to elevate relations between the two nations revealed last year, the UK and Israel have signed a long-term agreement strengthening ties in the areas of defense, security, and technology.
The fact that the agreement will be signed on Tuesday is controversial because it will be seen as a stamp of approval for Israel’s far-right government, which has put settlement growth in the occupied West Bank at the top of its agenda and is facing a lot of backlash over plans to weaken the role of the judiciary.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, and Eli Cohen, the foreign minister of Israel, signed the deal in London. It fits into the UK’s attempts to establish strategic alliances with so-called middle-income nations.
In a news release, the Foreign Office talked about the recent rise in violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, but no one tried to say who was to blame.Also, it didn’t say anything about the planned changes to the Israeli judiciary, which have been criticised by many people, including US President Joe Biden, who spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone on Sunday. Instead, the press statement hails a historic pact that will govern bilateral ties between the two nations until 2030.
In light of the thawing of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran earlier this month, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Rishi Sunak in London on Friday to discuss the dangers presented by Iran’s nuclear program.
The two nations, according to the UK Foreign Office, “are determined to form a modern, innovative, and forward-looking relationship that continues to focus on mutual priorities for mutual benefit, including on trade, cyber, science and tech, research and development, security, health, climate, and gender.”
In order to combat antisemitism, the UK is also dedicated to collaborating closely with Israel. The UK will advance factual understanding of the Holocaust and improve media and information literacy as the head of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2024.
Cohen said that after the meeting, they talked a lot about how to get Iran to stop trying to get nuclear weapons.
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