London’s double game: Condemning Israel while arming genocide

Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister from the Labour Party, has consistently supported the genocidal Israeli regime over the past 18 months.

When Israel destroyed 90% of Gaza’s residential buildings, bombed hospitals and medical staff, killed more journalists than in any war in the past 100 years, and massacred civilians, including around 15,000 children, Starmer appeared indifferent, rarely offering criticism stronger than calling on both sides to respect international law.

In fact, he has defended Israel’s war crimes, claiming at the onset of the war that Israel “has the right” to deprive Gaza’s civilian population of water and electricity.

The recent escalation of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which, according to a UN report, has put 14,000 infants at imminent risk of death from starvation, has prompted a shift in rhetoric. But how meaningful is the Labour Party’s new approach?

Last week, Starmer issued a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling for an end to the “expansion” of Israel’s military aggression and for allowing aid into Gaza, threatening “more specific actions” if these demands are not met.

On May 21, Starmer addressed the House of Commons, describing the level of suffering endured by innocent children facing renewed bombardment as “utterly intolerable.”

David Lammy, the UK Foreign Secretary, has called the blockade morally wrong and unjustifiable, describing Israel’s plans for ethnic cleansing in Gaza as “repulsive, dangerous, and monstrous”—strong words for someone who has repeatedly downplayed or refused to condemn Israel’s war crimes, including the bombing of a refugee camp, and who abstained in a November 2023 parliamentary vote for a ceasefire.

Alongside this shift in rhetoric, the British government has announced the suspension of free trade negotiations with Israel and imposed sanctions on “three individuals, two illegal settler outposts, and two organizations supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.”

However, despite Israel being the primary entity supporting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, no sanctions have been imposed on the regime itself. Zionist settlers are not operating under adverse conditions; they enjoy the full support of the Israeli cabinet, which not only routinely fails to punish them for crimes, including murder, but also provides them with weapons, funding, and military support.

Israel’s ruling Likud party is determined to build more settlements in the West Bank, which, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice, are illegal under international law. There is no such thing as a “legal” settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Labour Party’s recent steps are better than nothing, occurring alongside a notable shift in mainstream media rhetoric, with major newspapers like The Independent and Financial Times calling on Israel to end the blockade.

However, the UK continues to provide direct support to Israel. A recent Middle East Eye report revealed that the Labour Party has significantly increased arms and military technology exports to Israel, approving $169 million worth of military equipment—including aircraft, radar, targeting devices, and explosive devices—after imposing a partial arms embargo.

David Lammy, after claiming these exports are “defensive” in nature and “not what we would typically describe as weapons,” has been accused of misleading Parliament about the scale and nature of these exports.

The UK not only enables Israel’s genocide but is an active participant, with its involvement extending far beyond arms sales. A recent report by Declassified UK revealed that over 500 surveillance aircraft have been deployed from a British military base in Cyprus to the occupied territories, conducting surveillance operations over Gaza.

The British government has claimed these operations are solely for the purpose of freeing hostages. Additionally, reports indicate that the UK has allowed Israel’s cabinet to use the same military base.

When Labour MP Kim Johnson raised a question about this in Parliament last week, she was told that the government has blocked all inquiries regarding the use of military airbases. However, it appears that the Labour Party will face increasing challenges in evading accountability.

As large crowds gather across the UK in solidarity with Palestine, political pressure on the issue is mounting. Sixty-five signatories from nine different political parties and independent MPs have signed an open letter demanding full transparency from the British government regarding its investigations and decisions on whether there is a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.