The UK military devised a project to improve Israel’s capacity to confront Iran and Hezbollah, leaked files indicate.
The UK secretly developed a defence plan with Israel, Declassified can reveal.
According to leaked documents, the British project was codenamed HEZUK and designed to counter the “destabilising regional activity of Iran and Hizballah”.
This would be done by strengthening UK-Israel intelligence collaboration and increasing military cooperation, with the effect of deepening bilateral security integration.
Joint work on hypersonic missiles and autonomous warfare were also apparently considered during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister.
The information comes from a presentation prepared by Britain’s defence attaché to Tel Aviv in 2020 for a visiting delegation from the UK’s Higher Command and Staff Course.
The slides indicate that Project HEZUK was inaugurated in 2019-20, while the Israeli military was gunning down peaceful protesters in Gaza during the Great March of Return.
Over 200 Palestinians – including 46 children – were killed as they tried to return to their ancestral homes, and over 36,000 were injured.
The UK government referenced HEZUK once again in March 2020 when two officers from the British army’s 77th brigade were planning to visit Israel for “capability development” on “information operations”.
A visitor request issued by the British embassy in Tel Aviv noted how the visit was “pertinent to… a programme or agreement” named “MOD project HEZUK”.
The defence plan was apparently still active as recently as last year, when British major general James Roddis visited Tel Aviv under “HEZUK” auspices. (more...)
Britain’s Secret Defence Plan With Israel
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