LONDON — Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has drawn criticism from prominent figures on Britain’s political right after publicly backing Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, exposing another point of friction in increasingly strained UK-Israel relations.
Yair Netanyahu wrote on X last week, in Spanish, that “The Falkland Islands belong to Argentina.” He later said Israel should support Buenos Aires because President Javier Milei’s government is more sympathetic to Israel than Britain’s Labour government.
The remarks were aimed in part at Britain’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu accused the UK government of hypocrisy and hostility towards Israel over its recognition of Palestine, and alleged that Britain had engaged in antisemitism and what he described as “blood libels”.
But the intervention has also provoked a reaction from British figures who have traditionally been among Israel’s strongest supporters.
Rupert Lowe, leader of the right-wing Restore Britain party, directly challenged Netanyahu’s position, saying the Falklands were British and would remain so. Lowe also called on the Israeli government to clarify whether the comments reflected its official position, adding that a government led by his party would be prepared to use force if necessary to defend British sovereignty over the islands.
Sir Conor Burns, a former Conservative MP and minister, described Netanyahu’s comments as “stupid” and warned that they could damage Israel’s standing among supporters on the British right. Other British commentators who support Israel also criticised the intervention, arguing that it risked alienating a political constituency that has generally remained sympathetic to the country.
Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist and vocal supporter of Israel, separately reposted a statement asserting that British sovereignty over the Falklands was a fact, although he did not directly refer to Netanyahu.
The dispute comes at a particularly sensitive moment. The United States has traditionally avoided taking a definitive position on the sovereignty dispute, but President Donald Trump recently said Washington was reviewing its stance on the Falklands. Trump is also a close ally of Milei, whose government has sought closer ties with Israel.
Argentina calls the islands the Malvinas and has long claimed sovereignty over them. Britain has controlled the territory since the 19th century, although Buenos Aires has continued to challenge British sovereignty.
The dispute led to war in 1982, when Argentine forces invaded the islands and Britain sent a military task force to retake them. The conflict killed 649 Argentine and 258 British servicemen. The issue remains deeply sensitive in Britain, particularly among conservatives and military veterans.
Yair Netanyahu does not hold a formal position in the Israeli government, and no Israeli official has publicly endorsed his position on the Falklands. His political influence, however, has been a subject of discussion because of his proximity to his father and his frequent interventions on political issues.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has previously raised the Falklands in an argument over Israel’s territorial claims in the occupied West Bank. During a United Nations Security Council debate in February, Saar contrasted Israeli settlements in the West Bank with the Falklands, noting that Britain’s dispute with Argentina remained unresolved.
The Falklands have also featured in the history of UK-Israel relations. In the early 1980s, Israel faced criticism in Britain over arms sales to Argentina during the period surrounding the Falklands conflict. James Vaughan, a lecturer in international history at Aberystwyth University, said the renewed discussion of the islands was more revealing of current relations between Israel and Argentina than of any substantive change in the Falklands dispute.
The episode nevertheless highlights the broader deterioration in relations between London and Jerusalem. Britain has adopted a more critical position towards Israeli policies under successive Labour governments, including measures involving arms exports, trade discussions and sanctions against Israeli ministers. The UK has also recognised Palestinian statehood, a decision strongly opposed by the Netanyahu government.
Israeli officials have responded increasingly sharply to British criticism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently referred to Britain as the “Islamic Republic of Britain”, reflecting the increasingly hostile rhetoric between the two governments.
Rob Geist Pinfold, a security studies lecturer at King’s College London, said Yair Netanyahu’s comments had antagonised precisely the part of British politics most inclined to defend Israel. Vaughan similarly said the remarks could alienate sections of the British right, while noting that the right itself is politically diverse and that support for Israel is not uniform.
The Falklands dispute, therefore, is unlikely to alter Britain’s longstanding position on the territory. Its significance lies instead in how an issue far removed from the Middle East has become another vehicle for expressing the growing political divide between Britain and Israel.
