Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has claimed the Falkland Islands are Argentine territory under occupation and called for the UK to be sanctioned. His comments were made in a social media post late on Monday evening (September 7), just hours after it became public that the UK government is due to announce new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
UK set to announce West Bank settlement sanctions
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to outline new trade restrictions on goods from the illegal settlements in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, on Tuesday (September 8). The announcement follows reports of a 'reset' of relations by Andy Burnham's government, which prompted Israeli officials to threaten to 'act against Britain'.
Ben-Gvir has now publicly called for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognise the Atlantic archipelago as Argentinian. He said on social media: "It's time for the State of Israel to publicly recognize that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine territory under occupation, which the British violently steal from the Argentine people."
Ben-Gvir calls for sanctions on UK
He added: "The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people. I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues."
The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, but Argentina has long disputed the UK's claim to the archipelago. Political tensions erupted into warfare in 1982, a conflict lasting 74 days that concluded with an Argentine surrender.
US re-evaluates position on Falklands
Donald Trump, a close ally of Israel, said the US would 're-evaluate' its position on the Falkland Islands last week. Historically, America was 'neutral' in the dispute but recognised the UK's claim and provided military support during the 1982 war. His position may change following President Javier Milei's address to Argentina on the Falklands last week. Milei, a close friend of Trump's, made no new claims over the islands but said the 'winds of change' are coming.
Trump's position appears to be a response to Keir Starmer's refusal to back US military action in Iran, which it conducted alongside Israel. He explained: "Your country [the UK] was not there to help me. We didn't need help, but I did ask Nato, and I asked your former leader."
Concerns over sanctions impact
There are fears from Conservatives and intelligence experts that imposing new sanctions on Israel could harm international anti-terror co-operation and increase hostilities towards Britain's Jewish community. Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, told BBC Newsnight: "From a terrorism perspective, I mean, obviously one's got to think about international cooperation. That is a really big deal, particularly with Iran, thinking about intelligence. On the other hand, I suppose it's also true to say that some settler violence does amount to terrorism."
Mr Hall also expressed concern about the potential impact on Britain's Jewish communities, adding: "I think there is a risk that if you stir the pot by making Israel a pariah state, then that will bring that flame up again, which we saw. Remember, it was only a year ago that there was the attack at Heaton Park. And I've been very worried about de-legitimising anyone who's Israeli, certainly, and Jews, many of whom support Israel, and painting a bit of a target on the back. Now, I'm sure the government will be very careful, I hope they will be, in the way in which they describe this, but that is a concern."
Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat told The Telegraph: "It's worth remembering that Israel is one of our most important intelligence partners, and has been for many, many years. I can tell you, as security minister, a lot of incidents did not happen because of co-operation with intelligence sources in Israel, who helped us to protect British people from terror attacks."
