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 officer at the Israeli embassy in London - "extremely disturbing" and demanded a probe into the potential extent of political "interference" in the United Kingdom.

Masot's comments were secretly captured on film during a six-month undercover operation by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, which reveals plots by the Israeli diplomat and a British civil servant to destroy the careers of senior politicians .

"It is simply not good enough for the Foreign Office to say the matter is closed. This is a national security issue," Thornberry said in a statement.

"The embassy official involved should be withdrawn, and the government should launch an immediate inquiry into the extent of this improper interference and demand from the Israeli government that it be brought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," she said.

Israel apology after plot against UK politicians

In 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 "take down".

Masot named Deputy Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan, who in 2014 said that while he fully supported Israel's right to exist, he believed settlements on occupied Palestinian land represented an "ever-deepening stain on the face of the globe".

He also likened the situation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank to apartheid.

Strizzolo later hinted that "a little scandal" might see Duncan dismissed.

At the same dinner table conversation, Masot described British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Duncan's boss, as an "idiot … without any kind of responsibilities", while Strizzolo said he was "solid on Israel".

Since the announcement by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit of its findings - and the international media coverage that followed - the Israeli embassy tweeted a response saying that Masot would be "ending his term shortly", adding that Mark Regev, ambassador of Israel to the UK, had apologised to Duncan "and made clear that the embassy considered the remarks to be completely unacceptable".

Al Jazeera learned on Sunday that Strizzolo had resigned from her post.

Scottish National Party MP Alex Salmond reiterated the call on Sunday for Masot's deportation.

"Boris Johnson must right now revoke Mr Masot's 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."



Salmond also backed an official investigation into the matter "so 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".

READ MORE: Israel's parliamentary plot against UK politicians

Ben 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.

"We know that the Israeli foreign ministry - and also interestingly the Israeli ministry of strategic affairs, which it actually seemed that this individual [Masot] is an employee of - 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," said White.

The incident is just one among the Investigative Unit's many findings, which will be revealed in a four-part series "The Lobby" that will be broadcast daily on Al Jazeera from January 11 at 22:30 GMT.

The undercover investigation shows how the Israeli government is involved in a brazen, covert influence campaign in Britain.

For half a year, Robin (an alias), an undercover reporter working with Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, met members of Britain's lobby network that enjoys strong support from the Israeli government by way of the Israeli embassy in London.

Robin 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.

Shaping foreign policy agenda

Strizzolo, while advising Robin, revealed that she had a strategy of manipulation to ensure Israel remains at the top of the UK's foreign policy agenda.

"If 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: 'you don't 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'," she said.

She also advised trying to infiltrate Prime Minster's Questions, a weekly session in which the leader of the country answers questions from MPs. The debate is televised live.

"If they already have the question to table for PMQs [Prime Minister's Questions], it's harder to say: 'No, no, no, I won't do it'," she said.

Strizzolo then boasted how her own efforts once made an immediate impact on the national debate.

While 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 "to get a response from the government", Strizzolo said.

Halfon took the request and called on former prime minister David Cameron to support the Israeli government, which he said should do "everything possible to take out Hamas terrorist networks".

In response, Cameron promised that Britain would "stand by Israel".

Al Jazeera Investigative Unit's series "The Lobby" can be viewed on Al Jazeera at the following times:

Episode One - Wednesday, January 11, 22:30 GMT

Episode Two - Thursday, January 12, 22:30 GMT

Episode Three - Friday, January 13, 22:30 GMT

Episode Four - Saturday, January 14, 22:30 GMT

The series will also be available online. </s> In the UK - an Israeli embassy official has been secretly filmed saying he wants to "take down" a British Foreign Office minister.

Senior political officer Shai Masot was recorded saying Alan Duncan (pictured) was causing "a lot of problems".

The Israeli Embassy says the remarks do not reflect the views of the Government of Israel and the ambassador has apologised.

Sky's Willem Marx has more from outside the Embassy in London: "They have also said that Mr Masot will be ending his term of employment with the Embassy shortly.

"The British foreign office also with a statement talking about their understanding that the Israeli embassy has apologised and Israel is a close ally but this clearly has been a bit of a storm in a tea cup, bit of a diplomatic row." </s> A senior official of the Israeli embassy in London has been filmed during a sting operation purportedly plotting to “take down” British MPs who are outspoken supporters of Palestinian cause, including foreign office minister Alan Duncan.

Shai Masot, who described himself as an officer in the Israel Defence Forces and was a senior political officer at the mission, was caught on camera by an undercover reporter of Al Jazeera while talking to Maria Strizzolo, who works for the department for education's Skills Funding Agency.

The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, has apologised to Duncan. An Israeli spokesman said Regev believed “the embassy considered the remarks completely ­unacceptable”.

The Israeli embassy also said Masot would be “ending his term of employment with the embassy shortly”.

During a meeting at a restaurant, Masot spoke to Strizzolo about purportedly acting against MPs who cause “problems” for Israel. “Can I give you some MPs that I would suggest you would take down,” he said.

Strizzolo asked him which MPs he was referring to and Masot replied, “The deputy foreign minister.”

Masot agreed with Strizzolo’s contention that foreign secretary Boris Johnson was “solid” on Israel but added: “You know he (Johnson) is an idiot but so far he became the minister of foreign affairs without any kind of responsibilities.”

The Israeli official’s secretly filmed conversations and his profile on social media platforms such as LinkedIn described him as a major in the Israeli Defence Forces between 2004 and 2011 and showed that he is still employed by the IDF as deputy head of the international organisations sector.

He also said he had applied for the post of “head of the foreign affairs department of the intelligence department”.

Strizzolo, who earlier served as chief of staff to MP Robert Halfon when he was deputy chair of the Conservative Party, deleted her Twitter account after Al Jazeera aired footage from the sting operation on Saturday.

The footage from the six-month undercover operation will feature in a four-part series to be broadcast from January 15. </s> In a fiery parliamentary session held on July 25, following the release of the Israeli Embassy security guard involved in a deadly shooting incident, Jordanian MPs staged a mass walkout in protest and demanded that the Jordanian ambassador to Israel be recalled home. Footage from the session shows MPs Sadah Habashneh and Khaled Fanatseh calling on their colleagues to walk out with them, with Habashneh saying that the Jordanian prime minister had "sold us out." Jordanian MP Sadah Habashneh: (... </s> The Russian embassy has accused British authorities of 'another blatant provocation' after an Aeroflot flight was allegedly searched by Border Force officers at Heathrow.

An embassy official suggested that the jet, which had arrived from Moscow on a scheduled return trip, had been searched in connection with the diplomatic crisis over the Salisbury spy poisoning.

The row intensified on Friday after the Kremlin ordered Britain to reduce the number of diplomats in Moscow down to the same amount that Russia has in London.

It came as ambassadors from more than 20 countries were called into the foreign ministry in Moscow to be told of the latest wave of retaliatory measures being imposed.

As the crisis notched up the Russian embassy in London said British officials had searched an Aeroflot jet that had landed at Heathrow from Moscow.

According to an embassy officer Border Force and customs officers at first tried to search the plane without the crew, although the captain was eventually allowed to be present.

'Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities,' the official said.

'Border Force and Customs officers have searched the aircraft that was conducting the Aeroflot flights 2582 / 2583, Moscow - London - Moscow. This kind of event is extraordinary.'

The British government did not immediately comment on the embassy's complaint.

The Metropolitan Police, which is coordinating the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, denied it was part of the search.

The Russian embassy said it had complained to British counterparts and called for an explanation.

'At this moment, we have no other explanation but that the incident at Heathrow is in one way or another connected with the hostile policy that the UK government is conducting with regard to Russia,' the official said.

The UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok.

Laurie Bristow, the UK ambassador in Moscow, was among those called into the foreign ministry in Moscow on Friday.

He told reporters: 'It is important to bear in mind why this crisis has arisen in the first place.

'It's the use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the United Kingdom that has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country.

'We asked certain questions of the Russian state and have still not received adequate answers.'

Russia has told a number of countries - including Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia - they must send home the same number of diplomats as they had ordered to leave their nations.

So far, more than 150 Russian diplomats, some of whom are suspected spies, have been told to return home by the UK's allies.

The Russian Embassy said on Friday it 'insists' on the right to see Ms Skripal, 33, after it emerged on Thursday she was improving rapidly.

She spent three weeks in a critical condition after being exposed to Novichok on March 4.

Ms Skripal's father remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

On Friday afternoon, the Russian Embassy published a list of 27 questions it claimed it had for the British authorities over the treatment of the Skripals.

The list included demands to know the exact nature of their condition and how they were being treated, and whether British doctors' approach 'helped or harmed' the Skripals.

It also claimed Mr Skripal's niece had been inquiring after her uncle's health but that she had been ignored by the Foreign Office, and wondered why no images or footage of the Skripals alive in hospital had been published.

Scotland Yard believes Mr Skripal and his daughter, who was visiting him from Russia, first came into contact with the deadly chemical at his home.

Detailed forensic testing revealed the highest concentration of Novichok was found on the front door.

The vast attempted murder investigation continues to unfold in the Wiltshire city, most recently leading police to cordon off a children's play area at Montgomery Gardens.

Detectives said traces of the nerve agent had been found at some of the other scenes where investigations had been carried out, but at lower concentrations.

Efforts will now focus in and around the address, and specialist teams will step back from some of the other areas investigated over the past few weeks.

Mr Skripal and his daughter have been patients at Salisbury District Hospital since they were discovered unconscious on a park bench close to The Maltings shopping centre nearly four weeks ago.

Wiltshire Police Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, was discharged from the hospital last week. </s> JERUSALEM : Israel has postponed this week’s visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman following a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building, officials said Monday.

The move was the latest by Israel targeting countries that supported Friday’s resolution which deeply angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Ukraine, currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council, in turn summoned the Israeli ambassador in Kiev for further discussion, the foreign ministries of both countries said. It was unclear when or if the visit would occur following the postponement.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the visit had been postponed, while also issuing a statement saying that “our ambassador Eli Belotsercovsky was summoned to the foreign ministry in Kiev” over the issue. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it “expressed disappointment with the emotional reaction of individual Israeli officials and politicians concerning the vote in New York”.

It added in its statement that it wanted to continue good relations with Israel.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have responded with especially harsh language to the Security Council resolution which passed after the United States abstained from voting.

Netanyahu has alleged that US President Barack Obama “colluded” to see the “shameful” resolution through.

By deciding not to veto the move, the United States enabled the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

There have also been reports that Israel cancelled a planned meeting at next month’s World Economic Forum in Davos between Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

It was unclear, however, whether there was any official meeting scheduled and if it was indeed called off.

British deputy ambassador to Israel Tony Kay told Israeli army radio the reports of the cancellation were a disappointment, but expressed hope for future talks.

Speaking to AFP, Kay said “we want to have conversations with our Israeli counterparts at all levels... to talk about regional and other security challenges and opportunities and to develop the very, very strong UK-Israel bilateral relationship.”

Israel summoned ambassadors of countries that voted for the resolution on Sunday - Christmas day - while Netanyahu also met with US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

On Monday, Netanyahu defended his response to the UN vote in the face of criticism that he was overreacting, saying “we do not turn the other cheek”.

“Not only will our relations with the nations of the world not be harmed, over time they will only improve because the nations of the world respect strong countries that stand up for themselves and do not respect weak ingratiating countries that bow their heads,” he told a conference. </s> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have snubbed Theresa May over the UK’s support for an anti-Israel United Nations (UN) resolution attacking Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The two leaders were due to meet in Davos next month during the World Economic Forum. However, Tony Kay, the deputy chief of the British mission in Tel Aviv, told The Times this Tuesday:

“It is a disappointment that the Israeli government has announced that prime minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu does not want to have a conversation with Theresa May”.

A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu denied that any official meeting – the pair’s first face-to-face exchange – had been scheduled.

UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was adopted on the 23 of December, after President Obama broke with convention by not using the United State’s veto to block anti-Israel action.

The resolution described Jewish settlement as a “flagrant violation” of international law, which have “no legal validity”.

The resolution is the most specific UN attack on Israel since the 1980s, and was initially prepared by Egypt until President-elect Donald Trump pressured Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to withdraw the proposal

David Keyes, a spokesperson for Mr. Netanyahu, later claimed that President Obama was behind the resolution and had helped with both “formulating and pushing” it.

Just two weeks ago, in a speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) group, Mrs. May described the Jewish state as a “remarkable country,” a “beacon of tolerance,” and a “crucial” ally for Britain.

However, she did not step in to stop the UK voting against its long-standing ally in the Middle East, and pro-Israel voices within the Prime Minister’s own party have been quick to question her.

Sir Eric Pickles MP and Lord Polak CBE, CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman and Honorary President respectively, said in a joint statement:

“CFI is disappointed by the UK’s decision to support the controversial UN Security Council Resolution, which legitimises the Palestinian Authority’s attempts to internationalise the issue and avoid the necessary direct peace talks.

“In addition, the Resolution will embolden the hardline BDS movement and the ramifications for Jerusalem and Judaism’s holiest site – the Western Wall – are seriously troubling.

“CFI will be writing to the Prime Minister and seeking an urgent meeting with the Foreign Secretary to discuss the way forward”. </s> Israeli P.M Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his nations Foreign Ministry to temporarily limit all working ties with the embassies of the 12 UN Security Council members.

The order comes following Friday’s (23rd December) vote on the resolution on West Bank settlements and who have diplomatic relations with Israel

According to senior Israeli officials the business with the embassies of Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand will be suspended

They added that Prime Minister Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry while travel by Israeli ministers to those countries will also be limited, the officials said, noting that Israeli ambassadors in the countries will still be able to continue working with the governments of their host nations

The move came after ten ambassadors were summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a personal rebuke over the vote,under orders by Netanyahu

Israel was taken aback by the passage of Security Council resolution 2334, which states that the settlements in the West Bank “had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.”

The United States, a Security Council member, abstained on the resolution.

The diplomatic move to suspend embassy ties was done mostly to express Netanyahu’s anger at the countries that voted for the resolution and it is unlikely to have any practical effect on either Israel or the other countries, as it does not affect trade, security coordination, or other aspects of the relations.

However as a statement, it is significant, and it is a continuation of Netanyahu’s diplomatic actions against countries that voted for the resolution.

On Sunday Netanyahu launched an attack on on the Obama administration; however it does not affect diplomatic relations with the United States, which has been the focus of much of Netanyahu’s anger.

“Israel’s not going to be kicked in the teeth and not just respond to this,” said Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, explaining his country’s diplomatic moves

“We can’t just meet with visiting dignitaries as if nothing has happened. This is a serious effort against Israel.”

Dermer added Friday’s UN Security Council vote caused harm on the long-term prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The one negotiating chip that we have at the peace table is that territory. If the UN Security Council says that territory actually belongs to the Palestinians — which it does not and which we reject — that’s going to make achieving peace actually much harder.” </s> (CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his nation’s Foreign Ministry to temporarily limit all working ties with the embassies of the 12 UN Security Council members who voted in favor of Friday’s resolution on West Bank settlements and who have diplomatic relations with Israel, two senior Israeli officials tell CNN.

The officials said that business with the embassies of those countries — Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand — will be suspended, the officials said.

Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the officials added.

In addition, travel by Israeli ministers to those countries will also be limited, the officials said, noting that Israeli ambassadors in the countries will still be able to continue working with the governments of their host nations.

The move came after ten ambassadors were summoned, under orders by Netanyahu, to the Foreign Ministry for a personal rebuke over the vote. Israel was furious at the passage of Security Council resolution 2334, which says its settlements in the West Bank “had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.” The United States, a Security Council member, abstained on the resolution.

More than anything else, the diplomatic move to suspend embassy ties is a statement meant to express Netanyahu’s anger at the countries that voted for the resolution. It is unlikely to have any practical effect on either Israel or the other countries, as it does not affect trade, security coordination, or other aspects of the relations.

But as a statement, it is significant, and it is a continuation of Netanyahu’s diplomatic actions against countries that voted for the resolution.

Notably, it does not affect diplomatic relations with the United States, which has been the focus of much of Netanyahu’s anger. Netanyahu summoned the US ambassador and launched a scathing attack Sunday on the Obama administration.

Late Monday afternoon Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, explained his country’s diplomatic moves to CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.”

“Israel’s not going to be kicked in the teeth and not just respond to this,” Dermer said. “We can’t just meet with visiting dignitaries as if nothing has happened. This is a serious effort against Israel.”

Dermer said Friday’s UN Security Council vote harmed long-term prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The one negotiating chip that we have at the peace table is that territory. If the UN Security Council says that territory actually belongs to the Palestinians — which it does not and which we reject — that’s going to make achieving peace actually much harder.”
Several British MPs demand an investigation into a recent scandal in which an Israeli embassy official in London had conspired to damage the reputation of several British politicians in response to the recent United Nations Security Council resolution.