Government to revisit paused Israel arms licenses after Phase Two of Gaza ceasefire

Speaking to the JC at the Jewish Labour Movement annual conference on Sunday, Kyle said that arms licenses and UK-Israel trade talks are “intrinsically linked”.

"It would be very difficult to justify one without the other,” Kyle said, explaining that a “similar dynamic will lead towards the unblocking of these issues”. But he revealed that the government was in “regular dialogue” over the issue.

He went on: “It is good that President Trump is keeping pressure on progress towards a more sustainable peace, and all I can say is that I'm watching very closely.

"What I need to see is a movement towards a sustainable peace – and once that happens, we will look at circumstances.”

He said it was “hard to give an algorithm” for a timeline to the talks, but that he “hopes people are reassured that I'm watching very closely,” and that the UK could move “swiftly” once it decides to restart trade.

“I want these things to restart as quickly as possible, because that means that we get back on track with trade talks, but it also means we will reach the point where there is a sustainable peace that we believe we can play a part in, reinforcing with greater, deeper trade,” he continued.

Kyle also claimed the White House had wanted to understand the UK’s decision to halt trade with Israel in “greater detail”, but that the pause did not affect UK trade with America.

He emphasised that global trade was an “expression of Britain’s values” and “a key part of our soft power influence around the world.”

And he said that trade talks are only ongoing with a “small number of countries” because they are “incredibly time-consuming [and] resource-consuming endeavours”.

When challenged about trade with Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar, Kyle said this was not comparable with official trade talks with Israel.

“The trade deal that we're moving towards [with Israel] is actually an upgrade... there is no kind of parity in the kind of trade negotiations we were having with Israel with the Gulf group... because we don't have bilateral agreements with all of those states.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kyle stressed his plan to champion technology companies in the UK.

"I am determined in this role that we will get the first trillion-dollar company emerge within the UK,” he said, adding: "This will only happen if we can do better at keeping intellectual property here and commercialised here.”

When discussing “growing Britain from within Britain,” Kyle said he was inspired by the Israeli economy and regulatory framework.

"Israel has a legislative and a regulatory framework that supports the development of intellectual property. It is also much better at keeping it within Israel, and that is established at the point of a partnership with the Israeli government.”

Kyle told the JLM audience that he did not support boycotts and sanctions and had explained in different schools the “driving force behind some of this and the delegitimising of Israel as a state that is laid behind the BDS movement”.

He disagreed with the Conservative Party’s plans to legislate against BDS, however, saying: “Right now [that] is simply not on our agenda, it is not going to happen.”

Asked whether the Royal College of Defence Studies was right to exclude Israeli officials from its training courses as a diplomatic signal over the war in Gaza last year, Kyle suggested that institutions that took such steps over the war could revisit them over the renewed “pathway towards peace”.

“There were so many different institutions and organisations, and they will need to make their own decision based on the pathway that we are now on towards peace,” he said.

Speaking more broadly about his position on Israel and Palestine, Kyle went on: “I am a member of Labour Friends of Israel and was vice chair until I had to resign in this position. That doesn't mean that I support everything [Israel] has done.

“I like to think that my opposition on Netanyahu has been expressed in a way that never, ever is interpreted by Jewish people as a criticism of Jewish people or the right of Israel to exist.

“The more that people like myself are able to tread that line effectively, then the more we as a country can have a hope of having a debate about what are very legitimate areas for debate because of the nature of the ferocity of that war, the horrors that were experienced in the first terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas, and what unfolded subsequently.”

Finally, Kyle said that when the cabinet discussed officially recognising Palestine, “it was one of the most sombre, serious and considered conversations”.

“I have been a supporter for as long as I can remember a two-state solution, and I have always wanted it to be part of a negotiated settlement.”