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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed Israeli diplomats to support Argentina’s call for negotiations with Britain over the Falkland Islands, a move that could further strain relations between Israel and the United Kingdom
The Telegraph reported on October 24, citing unnamed sources, that Netanyahu had approved a shift toward recognizing Argentina’s historical connection to the South Atlantic archipelago and calling for direct negotiations between Buenos Aires and London.
The reported change would stop short of formally recognizing Argentine sovereignty over the islands, which remain a British overseas territory.
The report follows remarks by Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, who said last week that Israel recognized the importance of the issue to the Argentine public and called for progress that considered its historical, legal and human dimensions.
The British representative to the UN, Kate Foster, reiterated that Britain had no doubts about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, adding that negotiations over sovereignty could not proceed without the consent of the islanders.
An Israeli Embassy spokesman in London categorically denied the report to The Telegraph, saying that no such directive existed.
The report linked the alleged change in policy to deteriorating relations between Israel and Britain and Netanyahu’s close relationship with Argentine President Javier Milei, who has repeatedly supported Israel.
Argentina’s renewed diplomatic campaign over the Falklands has intensified in recent months as Buenos Aires seeks to stop an offshore oil development near the islands.
Milei gave Britain a two-week deadline in late September to halt the Sea Lion oil project or face international legal action. Argentina subsequently initiated arbitration proceedings under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, arguing that the development violates its sovereign rights.
The project is being developed by Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration, placing Israeli commercial interests within the dispute.
Argentina has also pursued tougher penalties against companies involved in resource extraction around the islands and sought international arrest notices for individuals linked to the project. Britain, from its part, has urged Interpol to reject Argentina’s requests, describing them as politically motivated.
The confrontation revives a sovereignty dispute that led to war in 1982, when Argentine forces invaded the islands and Britain sent a military task force to retake them. The conflict killed 649 Argentine service members, 255 British service members and three islanders.
Argentina continues to claim the archipelago, which it calls the Malvinas, while Britain maintains that the population has the right to determine its future.
Relations between Israel and Britain have deteriorated over separate disagreements, including Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state in 2025 and London’s increasingly critical position on Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
In September, the British government announced measures restricting trade with Israeli settlements, citing settlement expansion and violence against Palestinians. Israel condemned the measures.
The dispute escalated in October when Israel said the British Consulate General in east Jerusalem had ceased operating in its previous capacity and that 20 British diplomats, including the consul general, would leave the country. Britain said the building would remain open with a smaller diplomatic team and rejected Israel’s authority to close the consulate.
Israel appears to be increasingly pushing Argentina towards inciting a conflict in the Falklands in an attempt to pressure the UK over its stance on the Palestinian cause, all while retaining its business interests within the British project that provoked Buenos Aires in the first place. Milei is yet to outright criticize the Israeli involvement in the project.
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