{"id":5309,"date":"2017-01-09T20:11:47","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T20:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/?p=5309"},"modified":"2017-01-09T20:11:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T20:11:47","slug":"uk-mps-urge-probe-into-israeli-plot-against-politicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/2017\/01\/09\/uk-mps-urge-probe-into-israeli-plot-against-politicians\/","title":{"rendered":"UK MPs urge probe into Israeli plot against politicians"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"4a4855a1e4fe492aa7a9dfc403eae0aa_18-702x336\"<\/a>Al Jazeera reveals discussions between Israeli diplomat and UK civil servant to \u201ctake down\u201d anti-settlement politicians.
\nSenior members of parliament have slammed comments made by an Israeli diplomat on plans to \u201ctake down\u201d the UK\u2019s deputy foreign secretary over his criticism of Israel\u2019s settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.Emily Thornberry, the Labour Party\u2019s shadow foreign secretary, called the statements by Shai Masot \u2013 a senior political offficer at the Israeli embassy in London \u2013 \u201cextremely disturbing\u201d and demanded a probe into the potential extent of political \u201cinterference\u201d in the United Kingdom.
\nMasot\u2019s comments were secretly captured on film during a six-month undercover operation by Al Jazeera\u2019s Investigative Unit, which reveals plots by the Israeli diplomat and a British civil servant to destroy the careers of senior politicians .
\n\u201cIt is simply not good enough for the Foreign Office to say the matter is closed. This is a national security issue,\u201d Thornberry said in a statement.
\n\u201cThe embassy official involved should be withdrawn, and the government should launch an immediate inquiry into the extent of this improper interference and demand from the Israeli government that it be brought to an end,\u201d she said.
\nIn the recorded conversation with Maria Strizzolo, who was then chief of staff to MP Robert Halfon, the deputy chairman of the ruling Conservative Party, Masot asked if he could give her some names of parliamentarians he would suggest she \u201ctake down\u201d.
\nMasot named Deputy Foreign Minister Sir Robert Duncan, who in 2014 said while he fully supports Israel\u2019s right to exist, he believes settlements on occupied Palestinian land represent an \u201cever-deepening stain on the face of the globe\u201d.
\nHe also likened the situation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank to apartheid.
\nStrizzolo later hinted that \u201ca little scandal\u201d might see Duncan dismissed.
\nAt the same dinner table conversation, Masot described British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Duncan\u2019s boss, as an \u201cidiot \u2026 without any kind of responsibilities\u201d, while Strizzolo said he was \u201csolid on Israel\u201d.
\nSince the announcement by Al Jazeera\u2019s Investigative Unit of its findings \u2013 and the international media coverage that followed \u2013 the Israeli embassy tweeted a response saying that Masot would be \u201cending his term shortly\u201d, adding that Mark Regev, ambassador of Israel to the UK, had apologised to Duncan \u201cand made clear that the embassy considered the remarks to be completely unacceptable\u201d.
\nAl Jazeera learned on Sunday that Strizzolo had resigned from her post.
\nScottish National Party MP Alex Salmond reiterated the call on Sunday for Masot\u2019s deportation.
\n\u201cBoris Johnson must right now revoke Mr Masot\u2019s diplomatic status and remove him from the country as would most certainly have happened had the circumstances been reversed. Perhaps then the Israeli government representatives will regard the foreign secretary as less of a fool.\u201d
\nSalmond also backed an official probe into the matter \u201cso that we can be confident our elected officials are free to carry out their jobs to the best of their ability and without fear of having their reputation smeared by embassy officials who do not agree with their views\u201d.
\nBen White, a researcher and journalist who has written about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, told Al Jazeera it is not surprising that Israel would seek to influence British politicians, but he added this case was unique because it involved a secret video that has been publicised.
\n\u201cWe know that the Israeli foreign ministry \u2013 and also interestingly the Israeli ministry of strategic affairs, which it actually seemed that this individual [Masot] is an employee of \u2013 are very focused on fighting what they see as dangerous, powerful solidarity activism with particular focus on trying to thwart and undermine the Boycott Divest and Sanctions campaign,\u201d said White.
\nThe incident is just one among the Investigative Unit\u2019s many findings, which will be revealed in a four-part series \u201cThe Lobby\u201d that will broadcast daily on Al Jazeera from January 15 at 22:30 GMT.
\nThe undercover investigation shows how the Israeli government is involved in a brazen, covert influence campaign in Britain.
\nFor half a year, Robin (an alias), an undercover reporter working with Al Jazeera\u2019s Investigative Unit, met with members of Britain\u2019s lobby network that enjoys strong support from the Israeli government by way of the Israeli embassy in London.
\nRobin posed as a graduate activist with strong sympathies towards Israel who was keen to help combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement prominent in Britain.
\nShaping foreign policy agenda
\nStrizzolo, while advising Robin, revealed she had a strategy of manipulation to ensure Israel remains at the top of the UK\u2019s foreign policy agenda.
\n\u201cIf at least you can get a small group of MPs that you know you can always rely on, when there is something coming to parliament and you know you brief them, you say: \u2018you don\u2019t have to do anything, we are going to give you the speech, we are going to give you all the information, we are going to do everything for you\u2019,\u201d she said.
\nShe also advised trying to infiltrate Prime Minster\u2019s Questions, a weekly session in which the leader of the country answers questions from MPs. The debate is televised live.
\n\u201cIf they already have the question to table for PMQs [Prime Minister\u2019s Questions], it\u2019s harder to say: \u2018No, no, no, I won\u2019t do it\u2019,\u201d she said.
\nStrizzolo then boasted how her own efforts once made an immediate impact on the national debate.
\nWhile in Israel with the Conservative Friends of Israel parliamentary group in 2014, she persuaded MP Halfon to question the prime minster in public over three missing teenagers believed to have been kidnapped and murdered \u201cto get a response from the government\u201d, Strizzolo said.
\nHalfon took the request and called on former prime minister David Cameron to support the Israeli government, which he said should do \u201ceverything possible to take out Hamas terrorist networks\u201d.
\nIn response, Cameron promised that Britain would \u201cstand by Israel\u201d. \u2013 BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Al Jazeera reveals discussions between Israeli diplomat and UK civil servant to “take down” anti-settlement politicians. Senior members of parliament have slammed comments made by an Israeli diplomat on plans to “take down” the UK’s deputy foreign secretary over his criticism of Israel’s settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.Emily Thornberry, the Labour Party’s shadow foreign secretary, called the statements by Shai Masot – a senior political offficer at the Israeli embassy in London – “extremely disturbing” and demanded a probe into the potential extent of political “interference” in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5311,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5309\/revisions\/5311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}