The UK has banned Israelis from enrolling at one of the most prestigious defence academies in Britain over the war in Gaza.
The Royal College of Defence Studies confirmed it will not accept students starting next year.
Director general of Israel's defence ministry Amir Baram, who studied at the college, described the decisions as "a profoundly dishonourable act of disloyalty to an ally at war".
He called it a "discriminatory act" in a letter to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), shared with the Telegraph.
The letter said it is a "disgraceful break with Britain's proud tradition of tolerance - and plain decency."
It is the first time that the college has excluded Israelis.
Major General Amir Baram said the decision came at a time when Israel was "defending international shipping from Houthi aggression, preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of an Islamist regime that chants 'Death to England', and fighting to bring home 48 hostages from Hamas captivity".
He continued: "The establishment's response is to silence Israeli voices. Frankly, Israel's exclusion is nothing less than an act of self-sabotage of British security."
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Israelis have been banned from enrolling at The Royal College of Defence Studies (pictured)
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
An MoD spokesman said British military educational courses had long been open to people from a "wide range of countries, with all UK military courses emphasising compliance with international humanitarian law".
He added: "However, the Israeli Government's decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong.
"There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza."
The Israeli MoD said the ban was on all its citizens enrolling, not just soldiers.
The Royal College described its course as focusing on "political, diplomatic, security, social and economic issues at the grand strategic level - the level at which Governments take decisions on these issues both nationally and within the international community".
However, its main course is "practical rather than theoretical".
Each year, around 110 members from the UK and overseas enrol in the programme.
Multiple alumni in the field include Field Marshall Alan Francis Brooke, chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been critical of Sir Keir Starmer's recent decision
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Israel has recently criticised Sir Keir Starmer, confirming the UK would recognise a Palestinian State, with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of "rewarding Hamas".
Mr Netanyahu also called the halting of arms to Israel "shameful", saying that the UK has made a "misguided decision".
He said: "Just as Britain's heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defending our common civilisation, so too will history judge Israel's stand against Hamas and Iran's axis of terror."
Some 142 countries at the UN General Assembly voted in favour of a non-binding resolution endorsing "tangible, time-bound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution, while calling for Hamas to release all hostages and condemning the October 7, 2023, massacre.