Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said he recommended to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that Israel help Ukraine and was turned down, with Israel saying it did not want to upset Russia, in remarks that also saw him sharply criticise the country’s conduct since the full-scale invasion.
CORRECTION, 20 JULY 2026: An earlier version of this article described Eugene Kontorovich as a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute. This was incorrect. Mr Kontorovich is a senior fellow at Advancing American Freedom, and the article has been amended accordingly. We apologise for the error.
Wallace, who served as Defence Secretary from 2019 to 2023 and was among the earliest and most prominent Western advocates of arming Ukraine, made the disclosure in a post on X responding to Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at George Mason University’s law school, who had repeated his call for Israel to recognise Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
“I recommended to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that he help Ukraine. Israel declined saying they didn’t want to upset Russia. So Russia kept spending nearly $1bn+ on Iranian drones. Now ordinary Israelis have to face the consequences of Netanyahu’s judgement,” Wallace wrote, as posted on X.
The former Defence Secretary went further in his criticism, writing: “Since the invasion of Ukraine Israel has welcomed all the dirty Russia money and crooks. A sad decline for a once decent Country.”
i recommended to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that he help Ukraine. Isreal declined saying they didn’t want to upset Russia. So Russia kept spending nearly $1bn+ on Iranian drones. Now ordinary Israelis have to face the consequences of Netanyahus judgement . Since the invasion…
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace (@BenWallace70) July 19, 2026
The exchange began with Kontorovich renewing a proposal he first made in January. “Six months ago, I urged Israel recognize the Malvinas as Argentinian territory, occupied by the UK. Such action seems even more appropriate now, as London’s even more radical government sanctions Israeli NGOs and prepares to impose broad trade restrictions including on Jerusalem,” he wrote, as posted on X, having originally framed the idea as rewarding Argentine President Javier Milei and punishing the UK for its recognition of a Palestinian state.
The UK has never accepted any question over its sovereignty of the Falklands, whose inhabitants voted overwhelmingly to remain a British territory in the 2013 referendum, and successive governments of both parties have maintained that position.
Wallace’s account of Israeli reluctance drew corroboration from John Foreman, the former British Defence Attaché in Moscow and Kyiv, who replied: “Made the same point to the Israeli ambassador in Moscow – where Iranian agents were plotting to kill his staff,” as posted on X.
Israel’s cautious position on military support to Ukraine was widely reported through the early years of the war, with its government providing humanitarian assistance and some protective equipment while declining to supply weapons or air defence systems, a stance publicly linked at the time to its need to preserve the deconfliction arrangement with Russian forces in Syria and the position of Jewish communities in Russia.
Maybe about time then that we withdrew recognition of the US’s possession of Hawaii as they illegally took control and forced the Queen and her Govt out of power because they were daring to establish control over the islands for indigenous islanders over the invasive foreign farmers who as a result called on the US Govt to invade, so much for the mythical US anti colonial stance. It was an illegal coup compounded by later forcing Hawaii into the Union. Today despite a long campaign and Court wins the indigenous people remain almost completely cut off from their rightful land even where they possess the deeds, which is predominantly owned by the successors to this colonial farmers and rich foreign US citizens exploiting the situation, only a little almost useless and mostly volcanic outcrops have ever been returned. I guess the ‘might is right’ meme long predated the Trump regime.
Go ahead. The world will yawn and then shake its head in wonder that third rate power UK actually thinks that what it says matters.
Strangely, your comment sent me into a yawn. Grow up boy.
Just like we’re all yawning and shaking our head in wonder that a fifth-rate anti-UK twat like yourself thinks that what it says matters.
🤡
Strait of Hormuz open yet ? Iran defeated yet ? No ??
Oh dear, the world yawns and shakes its head at the 3rd rate power the US has become.
Who gives two s**ts if Israel recognises Argentina’s claim to the Falklands. It’s got as much power in the South Atlantic as Moldova.
What about UK accepting dirty money from advocates of October 7 atrocities? Or implicitly permitting public support for those atrocities? Filthy hypocrite.
What dirty money, received by whom? This is news to me.
🤥
How many countries have supported Ukraine militarily? 40? 50? So is it a headline that one of the 150 who didn’t, didn’t? (At least not until 2025 when it supplied Patriot systems.) Ah, but this is Israel, which somehow must always be held to a different standard than India, Peru or Egypt.
Tomorrow’s headline: Nauru refused to sanction Russia. “I urged Nauru to support the Mauritius claim to Chagos,” says a random law professor at some random university.
Israel likes to claim to be part of the west when it suits them, the benchmark for any nation claiming to be part of the west is support for Ukraine. It’s not always a different standard, just this time. Israel has never supported a single US or Western action in its history. The bombing if Iran is the first time Israel and America have even been in the same side in a conflict.
The reality is Israel does what ever it wants whenever it wants which is fine, it’s an independent country but it should not try and paint itself as some western democratic bastion in a hostile land and it should not feel itself entitled to military aid from western nations.
However judging on just how unpopular Israel has become in Germany and America I can’t see any aid lasting much longer and it’s likely to find itself under a sanction regime before too long. Certainly Americas veto in the UN might not be covering them much past 2029.
The benchmark for any nation claiming to
Be part of the west is supporting Ukraine??? WTF??
Ukraine? The EAST European Russians with a Nazi fetish? The mob that has Stephan Bandera – a real Nazi who played with the SS to kill over 100,000 people including Poles, as their national hero? With Azov, Kraken and their ilk marching about with swastikas, burning torches in forest glades and pagan ceremonies. The only thing Ukraine lacks is the Hugo Boss outfits.
So if you don’t support those freaks you are not part of the west.
The troll farm is on over time today comrade. Im gussung the UN charter does not apply to your analysis as to the legality of Ukranes position?
They keep coming Jim, dont be too harsh, Comrade Newell will lose his preferential government place in the Moscow petrol station queue, if he doesn’t make any headway here…
You would probably be angry if you had to trawl around, trying to find an open petrol station, thanks to the ‘Nazi’ drone strikes…
Do you run your Lada on Vodka or drink it, the great debate for millions of Russian alcoholics today…
Guys did you know that Boston and New York aren’t part of the West because they’re on the EAST coast of the US?
Oh, shut up you obvious Russian troll!
Stupid vatnik alert 🚨
It takes no small amount of mental and ideological gymnastics for you to look at Russia with its expansionist, nationalist beliefs, ethno- religious fervour, suppression of dissent, murder of political opponents, military and political aggression against its neighbours, deliberate targeting of civilians, warcrimes, deathcamps and an unprovoked waar launched, and conclude that Ukraine, with its democratically elected government and Jewish president is somehow Nazi.
You are literally too stupid for crayons.
I agree that Israel’s unpopularity may well be their undoing. However, Israel doesn’t paint itself so much as is painted. Look at this article. It’s about what Ben Wallace said. It’s about what Eugene Kontorovich said. Neither are Israeli.
You say Israel claims it’s a Western bastion. Does it? When? Or do you mean that others say it is, because it’s a democracy? As for being in a hostile region — you can’t seriously deny that, can you? When Israel supported Britain and France in the Sinai, we ran away, leaving them in the lurch, not the other way around, so we have little grounds to complain.
When there’s a need for Western international cooperation, Israel stays out of it, because the US believes fewer countries would be able to support anything with Israeli involvement, so they’re pretty much told to bow out. You say this is the only time Israel has supported the US, and just look how many other countries rallied behind the US. Even when directly attacked by Iran, how many Gulf states attacked Iran back again? Answer: two, and both did it minimally, quietly and deniably. Perhaps the US was right to tell Israel to butt out up until now.
There were many other so called western countries that didn’t support Ukraine militarily or talked much but did very little, Israel is a democracy even if you don’t like it’s government, soon there will be elections there and maybe there will be a change but all the mentioned chatting in social media went above Israel head , no reason to get angry, every country has it’s own interests to take care of
Who are these western countries that didn’t support Ukraine George? Can you provide a list please. I don’t think it will take you very long.
You can easily ask AI, I did it for you, quite interesting stuff actually…
Hungary, Bulgaria and Ireland are the primary Western nations that have explicitly refused to provide offensive or lethal military hardware to Ukraine. Concurrently, large southern European economies—most notably Spain and Italy—have faced intense scrutiny for delivering minimal military assistance relative to their economic size, frequently falling short of their initial rhetorical promises.
Western Nations Refusing Lethal Military Aid
Hungary: Under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, Hungary blocked the transit of Western weapons through its territory from the outset. Budapest has consistently refused to provide any military equipment, advocating instead for an immediate ceasefire and maintaining strong economic ties with Moscow.
Bulgaria: Following a series of political shifts, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev formally pulled the country back from active participation in several coordinate frameworks supporting Ukraine. Sofia has repeatedly declared that supplying weapons merely “prolongs the conflict.”Ireland: Bound by its traditional constitutional policy of military neutrality,
Dublin has strictly avoided sending lethal weaponry. While providing humanitarian and financial assistance, Ireland’s military contribution has been limited to non-lethal gear (such as medical kits and body armour), amounting to a negligible 0.02% of its GDP.
Austria and Switzerland: Both nations maintain rigid legal neutrality. Switzerland has gone a step further by actively blocking other European nations (such as Germany and Denmark) from re-exporting Swiss-manufactured ammunition and military components to Ukraine.
Nations Accused of Delivering Minimal Support (“Almost Nothing”)Several major European economies have drawn frustration from their allies for a significant gap between their political rhetoric and the actual volume of hardware delivered:
Spain: Madrid has consistently ranked near the bottom of Western donors regarding military aid relative to economic output, spending roughly 0.06% of its GDP. Despite periodic, highly publicised bilateral pledges, independent trackers show Spain has undergone prolonged stretches with zero new military commitments.Italy: Rome’s bilateral military commitments have hovered at an exceptionally low 0.09% of its GDP. Analysts at the Kiel Institute noted that Italy actually scaled back its allocations by roughly 15% in comparison to the opening stages of the conflict.
Greece and Romania: Both countries possess substantial stockpiles of compatible hardware but have transferred very little to Kyiv (0.08% and 0.15% of GDP respectively). Both Athens and Bucharest have cited pressing national security concerns and regional sensitivities as reasons to retain their own equipment.
Your list has three countries on it and all three have provided humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine. All voted against Russia in the general assembly vote in 2022.
I don’t think you have any point.
I see Israel should fight Russia, but then UK should not fight Iran ayatollahs!? And UK calls itself west?? haha.
It is Israel and US that are protecting UK from Iran.
UK would let Iran grow until it got ICBMs and dominate the Gulf and Levant.
It is UK that is not part of the West anymore…
It is one of the countries that detains more people because of their opinions, but targeted since in UK, George Orwell is read as a manual “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.
Using that definition then “The West” consists only of the US and Israel.
You may have noticed that virtually all of Europe opposed the US’s war against Iran. No one in the West is a fan of Iran, but still, no one wants to aid an illegal war that has the sole purpose of distracting from the Epstein Files.
The only thing Isreal cares about are Isreal and the Jews. They will never support us or the US in any way. They killed British soldiers less than a hundred years ago and US servicemen in 1967. They aren’t our allies, but of course are happy to sell weapons to us to make afew bob.
Suez.
Do you reckon they were doing that through their adoration towards Britain and France?
Support only counts when it comes with love? Do you think when we supported Israel’s defence against Iranian drones recently they insisted on roses and choccies first?
So why do you think they opted into Suez? Was it to support the UK and France in their delusion, or to attempt to profit from it?
That is absolutely wrong, Israeli intelligence sharing saved countless British lives preventing terrorists attacks
Wow typical, Jews are really put into another standard.
Now apply that reasoning to UK, France and Germany. What about Mers El Kebir?
Last century you had just 2 world wars with Germans with 1,5 million British deaths cumulatively.
Somehow you only reserve your hate to the Jews.
On the contrary. I hate them all equally.
Israel wants to maintain relationship with Russia, USA may back away, and they have lost good faith in Europe.
I think people are missing the point of this discussion on X.
This was an America first policy institute academic suggesting the UK should be punished by using Israel as tool to try and legitimise Argentinian aggression against 2500 innocent people who live on an independently governed island in the mid Atlantic, that is under the protection of the UK.
The following tit for tat, about Isreal and Ukraine was not the point. The point is the hostility to the UK that can be seen in the America first movement especially within it academic elites and the willingness to US political warfare against the UK .
It worth remembering MAGA is not America first, but they are very close and the America first movement does feed MAGA.
So the question the UK needs to be asking itself is not about Israel to be honest as we get far to obsessed about Israel compared to it’s overall impact on our security and future. The question is what happens “if” America first truly fulfils its wish’s and is in total control of the US and it’s thoughts and future, because that US would likely be quite hostile to the UK and its overseas territories in the Atlantic and the BIOS as well as historically links with Canada. It would also not in any way be an ally in any form anywhere else and would pursue and agenda in which the US has total control of its region and leaves everyone else to it, as well as considering the European liberal democracies as some form of antithesis to its own ideas.
We just need to be aware of this shift and that we may be seeing the start of a shift away from the norms set for 100+ years post the great rapprochement.
America first is pretty fringe though, sure it’s found a few bozos in the current administration and a bit of an intellectual vacuum to fill around the current president atleast in its rhetoric, however as America first is finding out US interventionism is deep seated. Even MAGA highly supported the initial strikes on Iran. Ultimately the US gains as much if not more than Europe does from Atlantic Security. Most Americans live right next to the Atlantic Ocean. Most Europeans don’t. The best way to guard the eastern sea board is from the GIUK gap, Gibraltar and Ascension Island.
Also The USA is the biggest power on the planet, it’s not about to diminish its own power and confine itself to the western hemisphere for no reason and let a donkey nation like Russia some how control Europe while allowing China unchecked dominion over two thirds of the people on planet earth so America can what, Dominate Venezuela oil and get Greenland? America already has Venezuelan oil and Greenland and control of the worlds ocean and alongside it’s alies control well over half the worlds output.
As America just found out in Iran without UK basing, it’s no global superpower. With UK basing it can dominate almost every ocean in the world.
That fact in theory does make the UK a threat to the USA in the warped vision of America first, indeed it’s why America had plan red in the 1920’s. America is the only country that can present an existential threat to the UK. This is why since the 19th century both countries have gone out of their way to have not just good relations but the best relations possible. There has always been Michael Foots or Stephen Millers, political cucks with silly ideas trying to screw things up. The fact is a conflict between the UK and USA is less likely than a US civil war and a conflict between the UK and the USA would be virtually like a civil war yet both sides woukd have access to the most deadly nuclear weapon system on planet earth.
That being said we spend over $100 billion a year on defence and we have the world’s second longest list of allied nations, if not the longest when you include the commonwealth (debatable). We should not be beholden to the US or anyone on any defence matters even if that means accepting a more limited military capability. Our armed forces have lost a mental capability to picture themselves as anything other than a part of a US lead coalition. This is the real danger we face not America first. No matter how much money we give to the UK armed forces this mindset will persist. The army in particular is guilty of this ethos primarily because it has spent so much of its time in the last 40 years inside US command structures. It’s also the reason for our near obsession with special forces to the detriment of the wider force. It’s why we are the only major Army in Europe without a single ballistic missile defence system. Something that not even Trump or the DiP has changed our mind on.
“The point is the hostility to the UK that can be seen in the America first movement especially within it academic elites”
You are really misinformed about US. Most academic elites in US are left and extreme left. Actually the extreme left is expelling the centrists specially in academies that are overly with humanities.
I suppose you don’t know that DSA is slowly taking over the “Democratic” Party. If you look you might find many Corbyn’s in that party.
Republicans and MAGA despise UK only after UK(and Europe) made it clear that despisse at least half of US. So UK got what UK sow.
Your really misinformed about Republicans, According to Gallops latest polling 64% of Republicans retain a favourably approval rating of the United Kingdom with 76% of Americans having a favourably approval rating. Suggest you try expanding your research beyond Fox News.
To be honest, it might help Britain’s case with the general public if the Israelis were to side with the Argentinians. It’s hardly a good look.
‘Hey, guys, there’s this piece of inhabited land, owned by another country, home to their people, that was promised to me hundreds of years ago. Let me settle a bunch of my people here. Guess who supports me? The genocide merchants’.
I agree, Israeli support for Argentina would greatly improve the UK’s diplomatic standing. It’s worth noting thought that almost no country supports Argentinas claim because it has zero legal basis and none of their arguments make any sense.
Outside of the media Argentina doesn’t even try to make such claims. The country is in economics ruins and every time this happens their politicans try to distract the people with this nonsense. All the Argentines I know don’t give two craps about the Falklands, none of them live in Argentina because it is a dangerous hell hope with an economy that’s constantly going to s**t and a government run by populists always trying to take their money.
There is support for Argentina over Falklands. Most of South America, Middle East, and Africa happy to be seen as anti colonialist if it doesn’t hurt them. China will enjoy it as well. So Falklands is tricky if it gets hot issue again.
They said the same in 1982 and yet we still got a UN resolution. When push comes to shove almost no countries support military action to annex territory. Everyone realises it’s a slippery slope.
At the end of the day the islanders are the only opinion that matters. Argentina is a basket case with out the means or will to change things. No one else matters.
I would not be confident in world backing British in defence of Falklands. I was living in usa as a young man during the Falklands it barely made the news. The Americans are a republic themselves they find ‘British empire,’ a bit of joke, as this would be portrayed. Best we have enough of a deterrent in the Falklands to stop any Argentine adventurers.
A quick wiki of un resolution on Falklands it’s so random. Spain, soviet Poland, china and Russia abstained. We are no longer in the EU. Ireland supported us. NZ and Australia invited but had no vote. We would not want to go through that again. The resolution asked for both sides to come to a peaceful conclusion. How nice.
It was our Resolution, it was our language asking for both sides to come to a peaceful resolution.
A quick wiki of un resolution on Falklands it’s so random. Spain, soviet Poland, china and Russia abstained. We are no longer in the EU now. Ireland supported us ( well done) NZ and Australia invited but had no vote. We would not want to go through that again. The resolution asked for both sides to come to a peaceful conclusion. How nice.
Which is really ironic as Argentina’s 1982 invasion of the Falklands, their treatment of the Islanders during and since then their assertion that the Islanders have no rights, that the referendums don’t count etc are pretty colonialist.
They just think it only applies to the old European powers.
Yes, I don’t see anyone in Argentina keen on consulting indigenous people either
The only type of person who could call Isrealis ‘genocide merchants’ is the type of Fascist shit the world would be better off without.
They have faced repeated attempts to genocide their people for 77 yrs and fought them off with courage and restraint that make Britain in WW2 look like savages.
I assume you are referring to the Fascist pigs of Gaza getting a taste of their own medicine?
I’m referring to the writings and testimonies of the plethora of historians, lawyers and other subject matter experts – including several Israelis – that have termed the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza to be a genocide. Take it up with them.
For your information, being subjected to attempted genocide in the past does not prevent an entity from committing one in the future.
Assume your responsibilities. you said it. It is on you.
So UK made a Genocide in WW2.
Allies killed more German proportional and most of the fight was not even on cities and even nazi government even let German children and women abandon cities contrary to Hamas.
So it is you barbarism that punishes who care about civilians, and reward the side that dont care even about own civilians.
Yeah, mate, the issue you have is that you very clearly don’t understand what the definition of genocide actually is.
British strategic bombing of WW2 led to major civilian casualties, but does not meet the definition of genocide as codified in 1948, and inducted in the UK law.
Postcode ethnic cleansing to start with. Giving a neighbourhood hours notice to move. Stopping water supply.not allowing the world press in. Hard to defend both Isreal and the initial Hamas attack on Israelis.