Getting the Better of the Bargain: Technical Intelligence, Arms Sales, and Anglo-Israeli Relations 1967–1974

Jones, Clive

doi:10.1080/09592296.2021.1961489

Getting the Better of the Bargain: Technical Intelligence, Arms Sales, and Anglo-Israeli Relations 1967–1974

Jones, Clive

Authors

Professor Clive Jones c.a.jones@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

This analysis explores the nature of Anglo-Israeli intelligence relations between 1967 and 1974, focusing in particular on how the legacy of the British mandate in Palestine, the influence of senior British diplomats, as well as wider commercial interests shaped attempts by intelligence officials on both sides to move this relationship beyond the purely functional. Whilst Israel looked to barter access to recently captured Soviet equipment for greater collaboration with the British in weapons development and arms sales, London demurred. Despite the urging of some in Whitehall, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office limited any collaboration to functional exchanges and kept them firmly in the shadows. The aftermath of the October 1973 war revealed the price paid by Britain. With Israel now dependent on Washington for the bulk of its military equipment, London’s ability to exercise any influence over Tel Aviv in reaching an accommodation with its Arab neighbours diminished greatly.

Citation

Jones, C. (2021). Getting the Better of the Bargain: Technical Intelligence, Arms Sales, and Anglo-Israeli Relations 1967–1974. Diplomacy and Statecraft, 32(3), 531 - 553. https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2021.1961489

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 2, 2021
Online Publication Date	Sep 17, 2021
Publication Date	2021-09
Deposit Date	Nov 3, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Nov 18, 2021
Journal	Diplomacy & Statecraft
Print ISSN	0959-2296
Electronic ISSN	1557-301X
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	32
Issue	3
Pages	531 - 553
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2021.1961489

Files

Published Journal Article (Advance online version) (701 Kb)
PDF

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.