Watch Video
Read Transcript
Kait Borsay on Times Radio. Britain’s allegedly considering expelling Israeli diplomats from the UK if Benjamin Netanyahu follows through on his threat to shut the UK Consulate-General in Jerusalem. The diplomatic row follows Britain’s decision to ban trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Israel preparing to close the Consulate in protest.
The former Tory Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, has advised the Government that Israel is acting illegally. Let’s speak to Sir Vincent Fean, a trustee of the Britain Palestine Project, which seeks equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, and former British Consul-General, Jerusalem. You also believe that this is an illegal act by the Israeli Prime Minister, don’t you? Can you explain why?
Vincent Fean: Yes. I believe it’s unlawful, it’s unfriendly, and it’s unwise. Why unlawful? Because the world does not regard Israel as the sovereign power in East Jerusalem. The Occupied Palestinian Territories that I was responsible for a few years ago cover Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the rest of the West Bank. So that’s occupied Palestine. It isn’t Israel. What Israel does in East Jerusalem does not have legal power.
It’s unfriendly because we do have relations with Israel, and this act is making them colder, worse.
And it’s unwise because there could be further repercussions if this gets into a tit-for-tat affair.
Kait Borsay: Yes. I was going to ask about it being a tit-for-tat affair. You, you know, we threatened the mass expulsion of Israeli diplomats if Netanyahu goes ahead and closes the UK’s consulate in East Jerusalem, which as you correctly say, Israel doesn’t actually have any legal jurisdiction over East Jerusalem. So it’s a bit of a nonsense, really. But should we respond in a tit-for-tat way? Is this a fight we want to escalate, is the question.
Sir Vincent Fean: We don’t know what the British Government will do. They’re keeping very quiet at the moment. The deadline is Thursday for closure according to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar. One reason why Britain acted in this way in launching the measures against illegal settlements, Kait, was that for 20 years now, 30 years now, successive British governments have condemned settlement expansion. But this Government, the Labour Government, has acted by banning trade in goods, as you said, and trying to stop services between the settlements and the UK.
And the reason for doing it on 8 September, which is when Ed Miliband spoke, is that there is a big bad settlement coming through called E1. It would separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and separate the West Bank north, south. And the stated aim of the Israeli government, of Smotrich, the Finance Minister, is to bury the two-state solution.
Now, I heard Kemi Badenoch today saying she supports the two-state solution. She’s quite right. It is bipartisan UK government policy, by successive governments. So what Ed Miliband did on 8 September led to this reprisal by Israel, but that reprisal is, in my opinion, Kait, a big mistake.
Kait: Yes. Look, our relations are at an all-time low with Israel. I note that they laid claim to giving us the intelligence about RAF Fairford being a potential, threat from Iran. How would you describe relations, with Israel? They are behaving badly. There’s no two ways about it when we talk about what might happen with that E1 settlement carving through any potential for a two-state solution, carving up Palestinian territory.Where do relations go from here? How, how would you describe them, Vincent?
Vincent: I would say that they’re poor at the moment. The Israeli Government has taken an unfriendly act against our Government. It isn’t about the people, it’s about governments. I think that there can be improvement, but the way forward is the two-state solution, which is the bipartisan policy of the Conservative and Labour parties.
And if this Israeli government is intent on killing off that solution, action is needed. That’s what Ed Miliband did on the 8 September. It evoked the ire, the anger of Gideon Sa’ar, and there are elections coming up in Israel on the 27th of October. But I repeat, the reason why Ed Miliband acted when he did was to preempt the E1 settlement- which is meant to kill the two-state solution. And that is against British interests, it’s against Palestinian interests, and it’s against the long-term interests of the Israeli people.
Kait: Understood. And look, we must also be careful that Netanyahu does not use any expulsion of Israeli diplomats, if that is the answer from the UK to the closing of that Consulate in East Jerusalem, that the Israeli government doesn’t use that to give the impression during the elections that it is Israel against the world, it is Israel against the West, and so you better stick with the Israeli Prime Minister as he is because of the threat facing the country. Thank you so much for joining us. Sir Vincent Fean, Trustee of the Britain Palestine Project.