Israel weighing expulsion of UK from Gaza observatory in 'drift to pariah status'

Israel is weighing expelling personnel from the UK, Germany and Italy from a ceasefire monitoring centre for Gaza, in a move that the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) says undermines peace efforts and moves to improve the situation in the enclave.

Israel has for weeks been discussing booting UK personnel from the US-led International Gaza Support Center (IGSC), according to the Financial Times, with Italian and German representatives also being considered for expulsion.

The FCDO told The New Arab in a statement on Thursday that it is committed to the 20-point plan in Gaza and playing a role in improving the situation on the ground, at the request of the US and the Board of Peace. 

"...Because of that commitment to Gaza's future, we continue to work at IGSC with the US, Israel, international partners and UN agencies in support of UNSCR 2803. Removing the UK or other partners would undermine these shared efforts," an FCDO spokesperson said.

It still unknown whether the expulsion of the countries requires approval from the US-led Board of Peace, with two sources telling the FT that the move did, while another said it did not.

Israel is also reportedly considering "other measures" against the UK, according to the Times of Israel, which said that a source familiar with the matter confirmed the FT's reporting to the outlet.

Italy's government dismissed the prospect that Israel would eject Germany and Italy from the IGSC to the FT, while the German Foreign Ministry declined to comment to The New Arab.

The reported move marks a continued deterioration in Israel's diplomatic relations, particularly with Western states that have close ties to the country.

Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The New Arab: "This latest diplomatic flare-up only serves to underscore not just the increasingly strained bilateral relations with the EU, but also Israel's increasing drift towards pariah status and self-isolation under the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu."

"Israel's actions are not likely to deter European criticism or action against Israel's settlements," he said, adding "if anything, Israeli measures will likely be counter-productive, by underscoring the need to hold an increasingly radicalised Israeli government to account for its behaviour."

On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced the expulsion of Dutch observers from the centre, issuing a warning that "those who act against Israel will have no foothold in the region".

"Israel will not allow measures to be taken against it without a response," Sa'ar added.

Alongside the Dutch, Israel expelled Spanish personnel from the centre earlier this year, with Israel citing criticism and sanctions by both countries for the decision.

In response, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said on Tuesday that the move "will not affect the decision of the Netherlands to ban products from illegal settlements".

Lovatt added that the banning of European representatives will have minimal impact on the centre's operations, as they are largely cut off from US-Israeli decision-making.

This point was affirmed by Amjad Iraqi, Senior Analyst for Israel and Palestine at the International Crisis Group, who told The New Arab that the move was "a very low-cost expulsion", given the centre's decision making was largely done by Israeli authorities, with European observers' presence being more symbolic.

However, Iraqi said the move puts into question the "extent to which the Israeli authorities are willing to publicly humiliate and diplomatically excommunicate foreign officials," as well as "whether governments will obviously read through that and call the bluff".

In recent weeks, Western governments have issued sharp criticism of Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the issuing of tenders for the E1 settlement project, closing a probe into a deadly strike against World Central Kitchen aid workers, and raiding and closing further UNRWA facilities in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the latter of which was condemned in a joint statement from 14 countries and the EU on Thursday.

"I think there are a lot of capitals abroad which are really coming around to realising that the Israeli government is really kind of, slinging in all directions," Iraqi said, adding, "they're trying their best to use the next two to three months to maximise their ideological and strategic gains as much as possible."

As Israel's election looms, Iraqi says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to see if the opposition, which is polling ahead of the government, will reverse any of the policy decisions in the occupied Palestinian territories that have garnered such backlash from Western states.

"I think some of these foreign capitals also want to set the terms for a next government after this one, to try and make them understand that this is a serious issue," he said.

The UK government under Andy Burnham has taken a harder stance against Israeli policy, with Ed Miliband summoning the Israeli envoy in the UK over the issuing of E1 settlement tenders, saying in a statement that the government "will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.".

The government is also expected to issue new sanctions against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The criticism and planned UK sanctions are cited as reasons why Israel is considering the expulsion of British personnel from the Gaza centre, alongside other retaliatory measures.