UK Minister Resigns Over Secret Israel Trip

British International Development Secretary Priti Patel has resigned following a political storm over her undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials, including Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

The UK Secretary of State for International Development was ordered back from an official trip to Kenya and summoned to Downing Street by Prime Minister Theresa May after it was revealed that she help 12 separate meetings with senior Israeli politicians and organizations during a family holiday in August, something that can be construed as a significant breach of diplomatic protocol.

Patel herself paid for the trip, during which she also met with Yuval Rotem, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, and Yair Lapid, the head of Yesh Latid, one of Netanyahu’s coalition partners, who tweeted about their meeting. The meeting with Netanyahu was organized by Lord Polak, an experienced Tory lobbyist.

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