British warship docks in Israel amid rising Mediterranean tensions

The UK docked a warship in Israel's port of Haifa Tuesday, following a joint military exercise with Israel's military that came amid heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over Syria's war.

HMS Bulwark is the first UK ship to dock in Haifa since 2009.

"The eastern Mediterranean is a pretty dangerous place right now, but that's what we are paid to do," said Capt. James Parkin, HMS Bulwark's commander. "Of course we are in a very high level of preparedness."

While both nations described the visit of HMS Bulwark as "routine" and "reflective of their close bilateral ties", the move comes just weeks after Russia deployed the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to the region. The carrier has been used as a base for Russian airstrikes on Syrian rebel targets.

An Israeli navy official - speaking under condition of anonymity - said that the "area of the east Mediterranean has become very crowded in light of the vast presence of the Russians and the situation in Syria". 

Russia's increased presence in the region has alarmed Western powers, many of whom are backing Syrian rebel groups.

Israel, meanwhile, remains hostile to Iran and Hizballah - both of whom are backing President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Damascus - while maintaining a delicate relationship with Moscow.

Israel has kept good communications with Russia in order to avoid clashes between their forces in Syrian airspace. 

Charles Heyman, a former British military officer who edits The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom handbook, told AFP that the ship's visit was a "political signal" that demonstrates the UK and Israel's strong relationship.

He added that he did not think that the message was aimed at Moscow, saying that, "the Russians have known about this deployment for a long time".

UK ambassadaor to Israel, David Quarrey, said the ship had been in the region for several months and was stopping in Haifa before returning home.

"There are many shared challenges that the UK and Israel face, and unfortunately many of them come from the region," he said.