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Israeli Ambassador apologises for employee’s comments over “taking down” MPs
Israel’s Ambassador to the UK has apologised after an employee at the Israeli Embassy in London was filmed by an undercover reporter discussing MPs that he would like to “take down”.
Israel’s Ambassador Mark Regev described the comments as “completely unacceptable”. He said that junior employee Shai Masot, who made the remarks and described himself as a senior political advisor, “will be ending his term of employment with the Embassy shortly”.
The Foreign Office released a statement that read: “The Israeli ambassador has apologised and is clear these comments do not reflect the views of the Embassy or the Government of Israel. The UK has a strong relationship with Israel and we consider the matter closed.”
Masot was filmed at a London restaurant by an undercover Al-Jazeera reporter, posing as a pro-Israel activist. Masot made the comments to Maria Strizzolo, a civil servant and former aide to Conservative MP Rob Halfon, considered a strong supporter of Israel.
In the recording, Masot appears to acknowledge that Strizzolo helped Halfon’s rise to becoming a government minister. He then asks: “Can I give you some MPs that I would suggest you would take down?”
He specifically named “the deputy foreign minister,” Sir Alan Duncan as such an MP he had in mind. Duncan is considered to be a consistent critic of Israel’s government and its policies. Another Conservative MP Masot referred to is Crispin Blunt, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and also a vocal critic of Israel. Masot said that Blunt is “strongly pro-Arab rather than pro-Israel” and Strizzolo commented that he is on her “hit-list”.
Strizzolo has since resigned her civil service position and rejected the significance of the conversation in question. She told the Guardian: “The context of the conversation was light, tongue-in-cheek and gossipy. Any suggestion that I, as a civil servant working in education, could ever exert the type of influence you are suggesting is risible.”
The recording was released as part of four half-hour documentaries that Al-Jazeera is expected to broadcast from 15 January.