The recent statements from the UK government regarding Israel’s horrific crimes in Gaza are a welcome realisation that Israel, their trusted ally, is engaged in heinous brutality against the people of Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy stood in the House of Commons yesterday (May 20th) and denounced Israel’s blockade of Gaza as “morally wrong” and “an affront to the values of the British people”, and in doing so, also paused the free-trade agreement negotiations with Israel and imposed a handful of select, and relatively minor sanctions in protest. A day earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Minister Mark Carney jointly warned of “concrete actions” if Israel did not halt its renewed military offensive and allow aid to flow into Gaza.
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These statements mark the most explicit criticism of Israel by Western allies in recent memory, yet they came only after more than a year and a half of relentless civilian casualties – more than 50,000 Gazans killed since 2023, including tens of thousands of women and children. How many innocent lives, including those of children, could have been spared if such criticism of atrocities committed by Israel was made more than a year ago, by Western allies.
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The question now is whether this belated moral clarity will be backed by the meaningful measures required to effect change, with meaningful being the operative word.
Why have staunch allies of Israel, so long willing to overlook Israel’s egregious conduct, suddenly decided to speak up and speak out? I suspect the shift has less to do with a newfound sensitivity to human suffering and more to do with geopolitics, and the dawning realisation that accountability can bring.
It has been reported over the last few weeks that President Trump has grown weary and tired of Netanyahu, viewing the Israeli leader’s strategy as a liability to his own deal-making legacy. Indeed, Trump notably omitted Israel from his recent Gulf tour despite intense lobbying from Netanyahu’s government, signalling a widening rift between Washington and Tel Aviv. That schism has given the United Kingdom, Canada, and France the diplomatic cover they needed to voice their deep-rooted anxiety about Israel’s conduct, without fear of outright US opposition, or even worse, a White House rebuke.
Former First Minister of Scotland