JERUSALEM — Israel is considering expelling British officials from the US-led coordination center for post-war Gaza, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The Israeli government in recent weeks has discussed removing the UK from the International Gaza Support Center, the multinational headquarters established to monitor the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report said Israel might decide to take similar measures against officials from other European countries as well.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Tuesday that Dutch representatives would be expelled from the center after a series of “anti-Israel measures” by the Netherlands.
Sa’ar made the announcement after the Netherlands moved to boycott Israeli goods produced in settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Israel had previously removed Spanish officials from the IGSC, accusing Madrid of what it called an “obsessive anti-Israel bias.”
Announcing the action against the Netherlands, Sa’ar said: “Israel will not allow measures to be taken against it without a response.”
The prospect of further expulsions comes amid a sharp deterioration in Israel’s relations with several European governments over the Gaza war, violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel’s expansion of settlements.
The Financial Times said Britain has sought to increase pressure on Israel, including through the possibility of restricting trade in goods originating from settlements.
The report comes amid a spat between Israel and the UK over the expansion of Israel’s controversial E1 settlements plan, which would block territorial contiguity between major Palestinian population centers.
UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ed Miliband called the plan “unacceptable and destructive” in a written statement last week, and said his office was working to prepare a “comprehensive set of measures” in response, including sanctions against “those who participate in illegal settlement expansion.”
British media reported on Wednesday that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was preparing to announce a complete trade ban on goods from Israeli West Bank settlements in response to the E1 plan.
Sa’ar hit back at Miliband, calling his statement “patronizing,” and accused the British government of contributing “to a massive wave of antisemitic hatred and attacks against the British Jewish community” and harming the UK-Israeli relationship.
Source: Saudi Gazette