Israel–United Kingdom relations, or Anglo-Israeli relations, are the diplomatic and commercial ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. The British embassy to Israel is located in Tel Aviv. The UK has an honorary consul in Eilat and a non-accredited consulate-general in Jerusalem, that represents the United Kingdom in that city and the Palestinian territories. Israel has three representative offices in the United Kingdom: an Embassy located in London and consulates in Cardiff and Glasgow.
History
Anglo-Yishuv relations (1914–48)
Britain seized Palestine from the Ottoman Empire during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. Close cooperation between Britain and the Yishuv, the nascent pre-state Jewish community in Palestine, developed during this time, when Britain received intelligence from the Nili Jewish spy network, which assisted British forces in conquering Palestine. Additionally, over 5000 Jews from various countries served in the Jewish Legion of the British Army which fought at Gallipoli and in the Palestine Campaign, although some Palestinian Jews also served in the Ottoman Army. In 1917, Britain issued the pro-Zionist Balfour Declaration, which called for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Six weeks afterward, British troops concluded the Palestine campaign, driving out the Ottoman army from Jerusalem, under the leadership of Field Marshal Allenby. The British then took control of Palestine. Under British military rule, the Zionist enterprise was renewed. In 1920, Britain established its authority under the Mandate for Palestine granted by the League of Nations, which was confirmed in the San Remo agreement of 1922. A High Commissioner was appointed with instructions to allow the Jews to build their national home, and spent 31 years in charge of British Mandate Palestine under a League of Nations mandate that originally extended to both sides of the Jordan River, although Transjordan was considered as a separate territory from Palestine by the British.
Following the 1920 Nebi Musa riots, the Yishuv's leadership created the Haganah, a nationwide defense organization. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the Haganah actively assisted the British Army, which in turn financed a Haganah-controlled Jewish police force known as Notrim. The crushing of the revolt decisively tipped the balance of power in Palestine in favor of the Yishuv. However, Britain also recognized a need to avoid antagonizing the wider Arab world. In 1937, the Peel Commission presented a plan for a Jewish state and an Arab state. After this was rejected, the British District Commissioner for the Galilee, Lewis Yelland Andrews was assassinated by Arab gunmen in Nazareth. In 1939, Britain announced the White Paper of 1939, which greatly restricted Jewish immigration and land purchases and called for a single unitary state in Palestine. In response to the White Paper, Jewish paramilitary group Irgun (an offshoot from the Haganah) began to carry out operations against the British.
World War II necessitated cooperation between Britain and the Jewish paramilitaries in Palestine. The Irgun halted its operations against the British and opted for temporary cooperation, including a mission to assist the British in the Anglo-Iraqi War. To prepare for a possible Axis invasion of Palestine, Britain assisted the Haganah in the creation of Palmach, a commando section specialized in sabotage and guerilla warfare. Members of Palmach fought alongside the British in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. Following the Second Battle of El Alamein, Britain withdrew its support for the Palmach and tried to disarm it, resulting in the Palmach going underground. In 1944, Britain created the Jewish Brigade, a military formation consisting of Yishuv volunteers, which fought in the Italian campaign. 30,000 Palestinian Jews ended up serving in the British army during the war.