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Diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel are “frozen” after two years of Labour government, officials have told The Telegraph.
Communications between ministers in London and Jerusalem have all but ceased, government sources have said, despite the continuing Middle East war threatening UK interests.
The souring of relations followed Sir Keir Starmer’s criticism of the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in Gaza, his decision to sanction Israeli ministers for misconduct in the West Bank, and Britain’s formal recognition of the state of Palestine last year.
However, there are indications that the once-strong partnership could deteriorate further under Andy Burnham’s premiership.
Earlier this month, Mr Burnham apologised for Labour’s stance on the war in Gaza under Sir Keir, criticising his predecessor for not calling for a ceasefire earlier in the conflict and indicating his support for more sanctions on West Bank settlements.
On Tuesday, Mr Burnham promoted Wes Streeting to Defence Secretary. The former health secretary previously accused Israel of “committing war crimes before our eyes” and of “talking the language of ethnic cleansing” in private messages to Lord Mandelson.
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband takes over the role of Foreign Secretary with a long history of pro-Palestinian sentiment and criticism of Israeli policy.
There have been no high-level British visits to Israel for nearly two years.
Mandarins at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) feared that British ministers would have been humiliated by not being offered a meeting with Israeli counterparts if they had travelled to Israel, according to a Whitehall official.
An Israeli government source said: “Things aren’t good. The relationship is essentially frozen. There are [British] ministers we’re not interested in talking to.”
David Lammy, as Sir Keir’s first foreign secretary, visited Israel within days of Labour taking office in July 2024. He met Benjamin Netanyahu and called for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all the hostages.
He returned the following month for a visit to the Palestinian territories with France’s foreign minister.
Yvette Cooper, who took over the role last September, never visited Israel. One of her first major acts was to announce Britain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly.
An interview in The Guardian suggested she had been accosted by Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, on the fringes of a UN meeting in New York earlier this year.
In the past two years, there has been a sharp deterioration in support for Israel among many of its traditional allies, particularly in Europe, owing to the IDF’s campaign in Gaza, plus the alleged “de facto” annexation of the West Bank and accompanying violence against Palestinians there.
Earlier this month, Hamish Falconer, the former Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, admitted to MPs that “relations between myself and my Israeli counterpart are obviously not strong”.
Intelligence recovered from Gaza reportedly indicated that Hamas had planned the Oct 7 massacre in part to provoke an Israeli response that would then isolate and weaken the Jewish state internationally.
More than 75,000 Gazans have been killed since October 2023, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. It is uncertain what proportion were active terrorists.
Speaking in Downing Street immediately after his appointment, Mr Miliband reminded the nation of his Jewish heritage.
“My parents came here as Jewish refugees, fleeing from the Nazis,” he told the BBC, explaining how, for them, Britain had provided “sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the fight against fascism”.
As Labour leader between 2010 and 2015, Mr Miliband took steps to embrace his Jewish heritage, in part at the suggestion of advisers who were concerned that his support for the Palestinian cause was alarming some Jewish voters.
He visited Israel, where he met Mr Netanyahu and found out about his grandfather’s murder in the Holocaust at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem remembrance centre, an experience that visibly moved him.
Israelis are generally cautious about suggestions that non-Israeli Jewish people should necessarily support Israel politically, as they know this can stoke anti-Semitism abroad.
Reflecting a general feeling of despondency with Labour, an Israeli government source said of Mr Miliband’s appointment: “He starts at a very low point of trust.”
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Mr Burnham’s comments in a video message earlier this month prompted further concerns in Jerusalem.
He appeared to criticise Sir Keir’s decision while leader of the opposition to call for humanitarian pauses to help the inflow of aid in the early weeks of the war, rather than calling for a full ceasefire.
At that time Hamas was still functioning as a sophisticated terrorist army.
It also held hundreds of hostages, having released only four in the first month of the conflict, on one-off humanitarian grounds.
“I know that many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right and I’m sorry about that,” said Mr Burnham.
He also accused Mr Netanyahu’s government of “clearly attempting to make a two-state solution impossible”, and called for measures to ban the trade of goods with Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Three days after Mr Burnham’s comments, Sir Chris Bryant, then a junior trade minister, told MPs that the Government was “seriously considering” imposing a trade ban on the settlements.
Sir Chris was promoted to Mr Burnham’s Cabinet on Monday as Northern Ireland Secretary.
Israel’s government this month announced financial support for more than 100 new West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this status.
In doing so, Bezalel Smotrich, the ultra-nationalist finance minister, who is from the settler community, described the decision explicitly as a means to kill off any practical chance of a Palestinian state.
The issue of West Bank expansion, which is often accused of leading to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, is contentious within Israel.
However, the Israeli government reacts aggressively to any foreign sanctions on its citizens.
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Under the previous Conservative government, when Lord Cameron was foreign secretary, sanctions were announced against eight individuals in the West Bank for violence against Palestinians.
Labour has since issued sanctions against many more.
In June last year, the Government took the additional step of issuing asset freezes and travel bans against two Israeli cabinet ministers, Mr Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, for allegedly inciting violence against the Palestinian community in the West Bank.
A UK ban on the trade of goods and services from West Bank settlements would represent a more comprehensive effort to delegitimise the settlement movement.
An Israeli government source said they fully expected additional sanctions.
“It does appear that relations are going to go downhill even further and things will have to get worse before they get better,” the source said.
Imposing further sanctions on Israel could provoke the ire of the White House, which strongly opposes such measures.
In the 19 months between Oct 7 2023, and losing office in July 2024, Conservative ministers made seven visits to Israel to show support, although Lord Cameron was occasionally outspoken on the IDF’s conduct.
As well as sanctions against private individuals and ministers, Labour has cancelled around 30 arms export licences to Israel.
Despite significant domestic political pressure, Sir Keir’s government said last year it did not believe Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
However, the decision to recognise Palestine, which was taken in concert with Canada and Australia, was criticised as an attempt to see off pressure from the Left, given how vulnerable Labour is in many constituencies to pro-Gaza independents and the Greens.
Britain has traditionally enjoyed a strong intelligence relationship with Israel, and it is understood that at a technical level the two government systems continue to communicate.
Isaac Herzog, who, as president, sits above the political and executive fray, has visited the UK twice in the past year, including this month on a four-day visit principally to show solidarity with British Jews in the face of rising anti-Semitism.
