What Britain risks by treating Israeli intelligence as a bargaining chip – comment

In 2015, British intelligence (MI5) discovered 3.5 tons of ammonium nitrate, a component for explosives, in northwest London, reportedly stockpiled by Hezbollah. This discovery, codenamed "Operation CARAWAY," was initiated by a tip from a "foreign government," later confirmed by a senior Israeli official to be the Mossad. Despite the severity, the British Parliament was not informed at the time, and the public record remained largely silent for six years. The article highlights this incident to underscore the critical intelligence cooperation between Britain and Israel, particularly as Britain recently announced a ban on trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This move has prompted calls for Britain to suspend intelligence cooperation with Israel, a prospect that British officials, including Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, have resisted, stating Israel remains "an important security ally." The author argues that Britain risks vital intelligence by treating Israel as an adversary while expecting continued cooperation, citing other instances of Israeli intelligence aiding British security, such as disrupting an ISIS cell and providing drone reconnaissance in Afghanistan. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the British trade ban a "grave miscalculation," and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the British ambassador's expulsion, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar warning, "If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain."