DayofPal– A new investigation by Declassified UK has revealed that senior Israeli military officers were trained at a prestigious British military academy during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The matter raises serious ethical and political concerns about the UK’s continued defence collaboration with Israel.
At least two Israeli colonels attended the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London during the period of intense fighting in Gaza, which has drawn international condemnation and accusations of war crimes.
One of the officers, believed to be Colonel Elad Edri, graduated from the institution just two weeks ago. Another, Colonel Yeftah Norkin, completed the program in July 2024 before leading Israel’s “Bang” Division in its subsequent invasion of Lebanon.
Norkin is a veteran of Israel’s 2008–09 assault on Gaza, an operation that killed hundreds of children and left much of the territory in ruins.
The RCDS, part of the UK’s Defence Academy, is known for training high-ranking military officials from the UK and allied nations, and its alumni include prominent Israeli officers such as General Hidai Zilberman and General Harel Knfao.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that fewer than five Israeli officers have studied at the RCDS since 2023, but has refused to release full details.
The secrecy surrounding the matter has persisted under both Conservative and Labour governments, despite mounting pressure from rights groups and former military officials.
In addition to individual officers, “senior staff” from Israel’s National Defense College (INDC) visited RCDS earlier this year.
INDC graduates have held senior positions in Israel’s ongoing operations in Gaza, including Colonel Ahsan Daksa, who was killed in Jabalia in October 2024 during a major Israeli offensive.
The revelations come as prominent voices within the British defence establishment speak out against military cooperation with Israel.
John Deverell, a former director of defence diplomacy at the MoD, has urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “cut all military collaboration” with Israel.
“Any relationship between the two militaries is useful to the IDF because it creates the perception that the British Army endorses how the IDF conducts its operations,” Deverell said. “It provides a fig leaf of legitimacy.”
Charlie Herbert, a retired British army general, described the situation as “extraordinary.”
“All training should have been suspended, and individuals returned to Israel when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant,” Herbert told Declassified. “It discredits our armed forces to continue hosting IDF officers.”
Former Conservative minister and army veteran Rory Stewart added his voice to the criticism, questioning how the UK can continue training Israeli troops while publicly condemning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Labour Foreign Secretary David Lammy has defended the training, stating in Parliament that the UK provides courses to its allies with an emphasis on international humanitarian law.
“It is important that we work with our allies to meet the amazing standards of our own armed services,” Lammy said, in response to a challenge from Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George.
The report emerged on the same day Prime Minister Starmer announced that the UK would formally recognize a Palestinian state during the upcoming UN General Assembly session in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
The move follows sustained domestic and international pressure, including calls to follow France in recognizing Palestinian statehood.
The UK has continued to supply arms to Israel throughout the war, which humanitarian organizations say has killed nearly 60,000 people and displaced most of Gaza’s population.
Roughly 80 percent of buildings in the enclave have been destroyed, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble in what legal experts have warned may amount to ethnic cleansing.
Critics argue that British military collaboration with Israel undermines the UK’s stated commitment to international law and risks implicating the UK in war crimes committed during the genocide.
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