By Latin America Reports | Created at 2026-09-11 18:06:47 | Updated at 2026-09-11 19:28:56
1 hour ago
The United Kingdom this week announced it will enact a long-anticipated ban on the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In retaliation, several prominent Israeli political figures, including far-right minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, are calling on the Israeli government to recognize Argentinian sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, a disputed UK territory in the South Atlantic.
The Falklands, or Malvinas Islands as they’re known in Argentina, are located hundreds of kilometres off the Argentinian coast in the South Atlantic.
The islands, though claimed by Argentina, are currently a UK territory and have been under near uninterrupted British control since 1833. In 1982, Argentina invaded the islands and seized them.
Shortly thereafter, a British task force reclaimed the islands from Argentina. Hundreds of British and Argentinian soldiers died in the conflict.
This defeat, however, has not dissuaded large sections of the Argentinian population from supporting Argentina’s continued claim to sovereignty over the islands – a 2021 poll revealed that more than 80% of Argentinians believed that their government should maintain its position that the territory is Argentinian.
The current Argentinian government under President Javier Milei has repeatedly asserted that it believes the Falklands are Argentinian.
The Milei administration has also been a staunch defender and ally of Israel, Milei has described himself as the “most Zionist president in the world”.
Given this deepening alliance, and in anticipation of the British settlement trade ban, Ben-Gvir called upon “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.”
Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has also repeatedly written on X that “The Malvinas Islands belong to Argentina.”
Although this backing of Buenos Aires by prominent Israelis may herald a diplomatic reorientation in Israel towards Milei and away from Britain, experts report that Israeli interests are set to suffer from Milei’s emboldened stance towards the Falklands dispute.
Milei recently announced a package of sanctions on oil companies that drill near the disputed territory without Argentina’s permission.
One such company is Navitas, an Israeli oil firm which controls and operates 65% of the Sea Lion Project, an oil field development located approximately 130 miles north of the archipelago.
Argentina views the Sea Lion Project as illegal exploitation of natural resources within its sovereign maritime territory.
Falklands dispute reveals shifting international alliances
Israel is not the only nation that may be changing its stance on the Falklands dispute; the U.S. government has declared that it is also reviewing its diplomatic position on the South Atlantic islands.
President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. may not come to the UK’s aid in the event of a future conflict between Britain and Argentina over the territory, citing the UK’s apparent lack of support for the U.S. war with Iran.
In conversation with Latin America Reports, Professor Klaus Dodds, a geopolitical analyst and the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at Middlesex University, speculated that Milei’s sanctions against oil companies were a result of an anticipated change in U.S. policy.
“Milei has taken advantage of a situation that was presented to him after President Trump appeared to suggest that the U.S. might reconsider its neutrality on the Falklands/Malvinas question,” he said.
“This is a significant shift in U.S. policy since 1982 and neutrality on the part of the U.S. effectively means that the status quo in favor of the UK is reinforced”.
The U.S. is one of Britain’s closest traditional allies and, despite adopting an officially neutral position on the sovereignty of the islands, has historically recognized British administration thereof.
However, both Milei and Netanyahu are close allies of Trump’s and the American leader has, on various occasions, expressed his disappointment with the current state of the UK-U.S. alliance.
The Trump administration also has a history of criticizing punitive measures taken by the UK against Israel; after the UK’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state was announced, then White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump felt “as though that’s rewarding Hamas”.
Sanctions against the settlements may provoke a stronger U.S. response against the UK; U.S. officials and politicians such as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Florida Congressman Randy Fine have already warned that individual U.S. states may restrict British companies from doing business there because of the settlement sanctions.
Sanctions by the UK government against Israel may therefore expedite the emergence of a U.S.-Argentina-Israel alliance, three nations which have grown significantly closer since Trump’s re-election.
“Trump favors personal relationships and wants to work with a network of strong men (in the main) [like Milei and Netanyahu] who are sympathetic to his aims for a greater United States,” Dodds argued.
“Defense, technology and intelligence sharing are the things they [Argentina, the US and Israel] share in common — Argentina wants to be an AI-hub and all three countries detest Iran.”
Already, the three countries’ shared interests have led to the declaration of a strategic partnership.
Earlier this year Milei and Netanyahu launched the Isaac Accords, an initiative designed to unite “the descendants of Isaac and nations of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in defense of freedom and democracy and in the fight against terrorism.”
The Accords, which the U.S. mediated, are meant to deepen trade, security and technological links between the U.S., Israel and Argentina, as well as other Latin American countries.
This developing alliance has also repeatedly manifested itself at recent votes on UN resolutions; the three nations were the only countries to vote against a resolution recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity.”
They also are amongst the few nations to have voted against last year’s UN resolution calling for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and the 2025 resolution condemning and urging an end to the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba.
Dodds noted that this emerging partnership could pose a threat to British interests.
“Israel has the strongest relationship with the U.S. and, despite occasional leader-level friction, it is a stronger relationship compared to the UK. Trump deals in personal relationships and his relationship with Milei is a lot better than previous Argentine presidents had with U.S. leaders,” he said.
“It would hurt the UK if others expressed explicit support for Argentina and the UK will be worried about what Trump’s ‘Western hemispheric dominance’ means for UK overseas territories in the Americas,” the professor concluded.
Featured Image: British graves on the Falkland Islands in 1982 during the conflict.
Image Credit: Ken Griffiths via Wikimedia Commons
License: Creative Commons Licenses
