Israel Expels British Military Team Over West Bank Settlement Sanctions

Israel has ordered a British military team operating in the West Bank to leave the country, according to a report in The Telegraph. The team, comprising around ten soldiers based in Ramallah, was reportedly tasked with monitoring settler attacks and reporting on them to London and Washington, in addition to training Palestinian Authority security forces. The expulsion is seen as a retaliatory measure following trade sanctions imposed by Britain against West Bank settlements.

The British Support Team was preparing to expand its operations and personnel significantly before receiving the expulsion order. The team was given seven days to depart, along with a smaller British military and diplomatic group involved in monitoring the Gaza ceasefire from Kiryat Gat.

Sources cited by The Telegraph suggest that Israel had been spying on the British soldiers and was looking for a pretext to expel them, with communications being regularly intercepted. British officials believe Israel was listening to all reports, particularly those concerning settler violence. This follows previous accusations in December against Israel for allegedly conducting extensive surveillance on allied officers at the Kiryat Gat headquarters, which the Israeli military denied.

The British team, led by a brigadier, acts as a field office for the U.S. Security Coordinator in Jerusalem. While their primary role is advising and assisting in training Palestinian security forces, their function has evolved to serve as a key source of information for Western governments on settler violence in the West Bank. The team's ability to move freely in the West Bank, with less stringent rules than their American counterparts, facilitated their intelligence gathering. A UK Ministry of Defence source stated that closing the team deprives the international community of crucial ground information, benefiting Israel by obscuring the situation.