Netanyahu orders Israel to back Argentina’s claim over the Falklands following Ed Miliband’s decision to impose sanctions

Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Israel to support Argentina’s claim to the Falklands after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband imposed economic sanctions on West Bank settlements. 

The Israeli prime minister told diplomats to change the country’s official position and back Argentine President Javier Milei in calling for direct talks about the future of the South Atlantic archipelago. 

Mr Netanyahu has also called for Israel to recognise Argentina’s historical connection to the territory, according to The Telegraph. 

Mr Milei has recently stepped up efforts to draw attention back to the Falklands, or ‘Las Malvinas’, as they’re known in Argentina, and last month reaffirmed his country’s claim to sovereignty over the islands at the UN General Assembly in New York. 

The small archipelago, located 300 miles off Argentina, has been a British overseas territory since 1833. In 1982, Argentina’s then-military dictatorship invaded the islands, sparking the Falklands war, which killed hundreds of troops on both sides. 

Mr Netanyahu’s change in stance over the British territory comes after Mr Miliband announced a sanctions package last month while accusing Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’. 

The move sparked a diplomatic row, which led to the re-organisation of the British consulate in Jerusalem. 

Mr Miliband said the package would ban imports of all goods from the settlements and bar companies from providing services for the settlements, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the ‘despicable’ move. 

He said Israel would expel UK representatives from a joint military centre monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end UK training of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank. 

In addition, Israel barred entry to a dozen British lawmakers and other UK citizens whom Mr Sa’ar said were ‘involved in anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity’. 

Under Mr Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government, settlement construction in the West Bank has surged. 

He sees the territory – which was seized by Israel in 1967 – as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people. 

While Israel has not formally announced its support for Argentina, Mr Netanyahu’s shift raises fears it could support Buenos Aires if Britain tightens its sanctions. 

Last month, Mr Milei’s government introduced a sweeping security bill that would toughen sanctions on companies exploiting resources around the Falkland Islands without Argentine authorisation, create a national security council chaired by Mr Milei and expand the military’s role in protecting critical Argentine infrastructure.

He also vowed to halt an oil project near the Falklands and, during a meeting at the UN General Assembly, called on Britain to resume negotiations to ‘find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute’.

‘Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the UN and the international community to live up to their own mandate,’ he said.

He also sharply criticised the UN and its role, accusing it of becoming ‘a useless organisation that serves only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats’. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham responded by saying the UK’s position is ‘clear’ and that it will ‘stand firm’ in the face of any threats. 

‘We will defend the right of the ⁠Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British.’

In a 2013 referendum, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory, with 99.8 per cent voting in favour and just three votes against.