Eurasia Press & News
In December 2020, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted that it had signed a military agreement with the UK.
It said British and Israeli military chiefs had agreed to “formalise and enhance the defence partnership and support the growing Israel-UK partnership.”
In Britain, the government gave the new agreement no publicity. Months passed in silence, with no press release or mention by the Ministry of Defence, together with no noticeable interest from the national media.
The silence was broken in May 2021 when Kenny MacAskill MP questioned the government in parliament, requesting it to publish the accord.
But Conservative defence minister James Heappey said the agreement was “being kept at a higher security classification and therefore it will not be made public”.
Heappey said the accord “strengthens the defence relationship between Britain and Israel” and was “an important piece of defence diplomacy”.
He then added some details, but in extremely vague language. He said the accord was “an organising mechanism for our relationship… It will streamline and provide a mechanism for planning our joint activity, allowing collaboration on a number of areas that will include defence medical training, organisational design concepts and defence education”.
Over two years later, with Israel’s attacks on Gaza having begun, MacAskill asked the government again to publish the accord. Heappey, still defence minister, again refused.
This time, the minister said the accord “incorporates a range of defence engagement activity, including defence education and joint training”.
After Labour took office in 2024, it adopted the same stonewalling policy. Defence minister Luke Pollard reiterated that “it is not possible to release this agreement as it is held at a higher classification”.
Now, a response by the MoD to a freedom of information request states that “no amendments or modifications to this agreement exist”, confirming it is still active.
The admission is significant, showing that UK ministers have been content to keep a military accord alive with a state engaged in genocide.
Harm relations with Israel
In its FOI response, the MoD again refuses to disclose the agreement in full, saying that to do so “could harm the UK’s interests internationally”, which is clearly a reference to Israel.
In addition, it “would be likely to prejudice the capability and effectiveness of our armed forces”, the government contends.
Thus the agreement has been in place throughout Israel’s genocide, and during the term of office of Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, who presided over the Israeli military from December 2022 to November 2024.
Gallant is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. The ICC says that he is “allegedly responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
This involves “the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”.
Clearly, this wasn’t enough to trouble Britain’s MoD.
Dundee Central MP Chris Law said: “The refusal by the UK government to publish details of this military agreement exposes the severe lack of transparency and accountability surrounding their ongoing relationship with the Israeli government.
“While we do not know the details of the 2020 military agreement, we do know that the MoD has provided critical support to the IDF since October 2023. Questions must be asked why there has been no effort to amend or update the agreement in light of Israel’s actions over the last two years.”
He added: “It is therefore clearly absolutely crucial that parliamentarians, the public and the press continue to put pressure on the UK government to end all military relations with Israel, and that part of this must include the government finally coming clean about the contents of the 2020 military agreement.”
‘Investigations and legal proceedings’
After Gallant left office, the UK continued to collaborate with his replacement as minister, Israel Katz, who has managed Israel’s military as a recent UN Commission became yet another international body to describe his army’s activities as constituting genocide.
In its September findings, the Commission said it examined Israeli military operations in Gaza and concluded these involved “killing and seriously harming unprecedented numbers of Palestinians”, “imposing a total siege, including blocking humanitarian aid leading to starvation” and “systematically destroying the healthcare and education systems in Gaza”.
The MoD has decided not to heed UN Commision’s call to “take action on accountability through investigations and legal proceedings against individuals or corporations that are involved in the genocide directly or indirectly”.
Rather, Whitehall has continued to collaborate with Katz, who in July first mooted the idea of Israel forcibly relocating 600,000 Palestinians into what observers said would be “concentration camps” in southern Gaza, with plans to expand this to the Strip’s entire population.
The FOI response also states that it is “the only agreement” the MoD has signed with Israel. This suggests it provides the basis for the range of UK military support for Israel amid the genocide.
Such backing includes numerous high level military meetings in Britain and Israel, the guarantee of immunity from prosecution for Israeli officers visiting the UK, and spy flights over Gaza in aid of Israeli intelligence.
The UK signed a ‘roadmap’ with Israel in 2023 which committed both sides to a “close strategic partnership, with extensive defence and security cooperation”. Foreign secretary David Lammy has said this accord is being “reviewed”.
Declassified discovered the existence of another secret UK agreement with Israel known as HEZUK and which began in 2019-20. This involved the British military devising a project to improve Israel’s capacity to confront Iran and Hezbollah.
