Britain is complicit in Israel’s barbarism

Roddy Keenan The Electronic Intifada 12 June 2024

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and leading British politicians David Cameron and Rishi Sunak are denounced at a London protest. 

Hesther Ng SOPA Images/SIPA USA

Soon after Benjamin Netanyahu promised to wreak a “mighty vengeance” against the people of Gaza on 7 October, his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak tweeted unambiguous support for Israel.

According to Sunak, the UK would “stand unequivocally” with Israel. He assured Netanyahu of British “diplomatic, intelligence or security” support.

Sunak’s commitment was echoed by then Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on 9 October, when he said the UK would continue to support Israel’s military operation in Gaza. When asked if it was “proportionate” for Israel to cut off water, electricity, food and fuel, Cleverly said “Israel has a right to defend itself against attack,” seemingly unaware that occupying forces have no such right under international law.

Cleverly’s comments came on the same day that Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant infamously described the people of Gaza as “human animals.”

“I have ordered a complete siege in Gaza,” Gallant had pronounced. “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.”

Cleverly’s comments not only appeared to be an imprimatur for the genocidal actions promised by Netanyahu and Galant, but also perpetuated the insidious Zionist narrative that Hamas was using Gaza’s civilians as “human shields.”

As the Israeli forces had made it clear that they were about to unleash a brutal assault on the population of Gaza, the significance of the latter shibboleth is crucial, as it has subsequently been used by Israel to try to justify the mass slaughter of men, women and children, regardless of whether they were part of the resistance movement or not. Cleverly’s repetition of this assertion was as deliberate as it was shameful.

His utterances have been entirely consistent with the UK’s actions since then, with the London government proving itself to be one of Israel’s closest and most reliable allies.

Indeed, while the UK’s continuation of arms trading with Israel has been widely scrutinized, UK support has gone much deeper.

Arms sales

The UK issued more than 100 arms export licenses to Israel between 7 October 2023 and the end of May this year, according to new data.

They include eight open licenses, which allow for sales of an unlimited amount of weaponry and specific military equipment without any oversight.

Many other open licenses have been issued since 2015. One of these relates to the supply of parts to F-35 warplanes currently being used over Gaza.

The license is worth an estimated $429 million to UK companies. Britain produces around 15 percent of the value of each F-35.

According to the UK government’s own arms export guidelines, it will not grant a license if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

On 10 November, the Foreign Office admitted it had “serious concerns” that Israel had breached international humanitarian law. Yet when giving evidence to the UK Parliament’s committee on foreign policy in January, Foreign Secretary David Cameron refused to acknowledge that Israel had committed war crimes.

Such evasiveness has characterized the UK approach, as Cameron and his colleagues in government continuously refuse to be drawn on determining whether Israel has broken international law.

Instead, they resort to platitudes, such as arguing that it is not for the UK to determine if Israel has broken the law, or even suggesting that the Israelis investigate any such accusations themselves.

Despite Cameron not revealing it when appearing before the foreign policy committee, he had previously signed off on arms exports on 12 December as he was satisfied that Israel was committed to complying with international humanitarian law and advised Trade and Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch not to suspend licenses. On 18 December, the UK government decided to continue arms sales.

However, in March, a leaked comment by Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign policy committee, indicated that the UK Foreign Office had received advice that Israel had breached international humanitarian law, but that Cameron and others in the UK government were wilfully ignoring it.

Subsequently, throughout April and May, Cameron confirmed that arms sales would continue. This approval came weeks after three British citizens working with World Central Kitchen were killed by a targeted airstrike in Gaza from a Hermes 450 drone manufactured by Israel’s Elbit Systems.

The Hermes 450 is powered by a Wankel engine, produced by Elbit subsidiary UAV Engines in the UK. This strike alone demonstrates that the UK is clearly violating its own stated policy regarding arms sales.

Interestingly, in the course of several more recent statements and interviews, there has been a noticeable shift in Cameron’s rhetoric. As the world watches in horror, and the genocidal nature of the Israeli slaughter becomes unarguable, Cameron’s latest defense seems to be trying to focus on how little the UK provides as compared to the US.

“I think our defense exports to Israel are responsible for significantly less than 1 per cent of the total,” Cameron claimed.

Evidently, the UK is now relying on a defense of “we may be supplying arms to a nation committing genocide, but it’s not as much as the Americans.”

Military support

As well as giving the green light to arms deals, the UK has been equally active in providing military support to Israel. Aside from the aid announced in the days following 7 October, there has been significantly more military assistance extended that has not been fully disclosed.

Declassified UK revealed that in the first month following 7 October, 33 British military transport flights flew from RAF Akrotiri – the UK air base in Cyprus – to Tel Aviv. These flights were not taking place between August and 6 October last year.

The British government has blocked any questions on Gaza-related activity at the base.

The UK military aircraft landing in Tel Aviv were mainly C-17A Globemaster III and A400M Atlas C1s, both military transport vehicles. The C-17 is capable of transporting 134 personnel and various forms of military hardware, including US-made Abrams tanks and Black Hawk helicopters.

There have also been numerous US military flights from the base to Israel but the UK has refused to reveal what their purpose was, the nature of support being provided, or what was on board these aircraft.

Another investigation, again by Declassified UK, showed the UK military has been actively involved in surveillance operations.

Britain had flown over 200 surveillance missions over Gaza between early December and May. It is estimated that they have collected over 1,000 hours of surveillance footage over Gaza in that time.

The UK Shadow R1s that flew over Gaza are intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance aircraft (ISTAR).

One wonders did they record any footage of Israeli war crimes that have taken place the length and breadth of the Gaza Strip during that period.

Suspicions remain that the UK forces are involved in much more than the location of Israeli captives, as claimed by the Ministry of Defence, especially when one is reminded of the fact that the Israeli forces have notoriously wide-ranging surveillance capabilities in Gaza. One can only wonder what the UK can add to this well-established surveillance architecture.

Following revelations that nine Israeli Air Force planes landed on UK bases in the four months after 7 October, the British government moved quickly to block the disclosure of information on any Israeli military flights landing in the UK.

A report appearing in the UK media in October claimed that UK special forces were preparing for possible deployment to Gaza. Soon afterwards, media outlets received requests known as D-Notices from the Ministry of Defence.

The media were asked not to report on UK special operations in the region, raising immediate questions as to what the UK government wished to conceal.

As well as direct military support in the region, it has been revealed that the UK is training the Israeli army.

While questions surround the extent of British military activities in support of Israel, it is necessary to bear in mind a secretive military agreement signed in December 2020 by the UK and Israel. Described as an “important piece of defense diplomacy” that “strengthens the military relationship between both parties,” the terms of the pact have remained undisclosed.

Indeed, the British public and even British parliamentarians are prevented from seeing the details of the agreement and what obligations it places on the UK.

Diplomatic cover

Dovetailing with its military and economic support, the UK has played a key role in protecting Israel diplomatically, as well as providing cover to the US, in numerous votes at the United Nations.

In a key UN Security Council vote on 8 December, 13 countries supported the demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with two exceptions. The US vetoed the resolution, while the UK abstained.

In another Security Council vote in February, the UK once again protected its US ally from total isolation by abstaining on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Barbara Woodward, the British ambassador, defended the abstention by claiming that calling for a ceasefire “could actually make a ceasefire less likely.”

Woodward’s verbal contortions merely meant that Israel would be free to continue its slaughter of Palestinians.

The UK response was little different in relation to the genocide case brought against Israel to the International Court of Justice by South Africa. The UK made its position clear, with Rishi Sunak declaring in January that the case was “completely unjustified and wrong,” reiterating the Israeli occupation’s “right to defend itself” argument yet again.

That was despite how Israeli diplomats in regular contact with the British government had displayed clear genocidal intent.

About a week before Sunak made his comments on the South African case, Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, had said that “every school, every mosque, every second house” was a legitimate target in Gaza.

While ordering later in January that Israel stop killing Palestinians, the International Court of Justice established that South Africa’s case was “plausible.”

That should have been interpreted as a warning to nations allied with Israel that they were in danger of complicity in a genocide if they didn’t take appropriate action.

Sunak’s aides responded to the ruling by highlighting a speech he gave to the pressure group Conservative Friends of Israel. In that speech, Sunak said, “There is a horrific irony in Israel, of all countries, being accused of genocide.”

Attacking UNRWA

The UK’s response to the false allegations against the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) proved to be yet another deplorable episode in its determination to assist Israel, and one of the gravest acts of complicity in genocide.

In January, Israel alleged that some UNRWA staff had taken part in the 7 October operation. Immediately, the UK declared it would stop funding the organization.

Because of the complete blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza since 2007, UNRWA’s humanitarian aid has long been essential for the survival of Gaza’s people.

Yet prior to an investigation even taking place, the UK immediately chose to suspend all contributions.

And despite how an investigation headed by Catherine Colonna, a former French foreign minister, debunked the accusations, and the subsequent restoration of funding from a number of other nations, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has maintained that the British government will not be restoring funding to UNRWA.

With starvation being used as a weapon of war by Israel, the services offered by UNRWA can mean the difference between life and death. Indeed, the disbanding of UNRWA is a long-held goal of Israel for precisely that reason.

When one considers the open declarations by Israeli officials signaling an intent to deny Gazans food and their determination to manufacture a famine, the response of the UK government has been truly barbaric.

The “opposition”

If anyone believed that Britain’s opposition would do its job and hold the government to account, they were disabused of that notion quite swiftly. The political establishment has closed ranks around Israel, with the Labour Party falling in line behind the ruling Conservatives.

Labour leader Keir Starmer declared following the 7 October operation that Israel had a right to defend itself, even if that meant committing war crimes such as cutting off water and power, while the shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry reiterated Starmer’s view on Israel’s “right to defend itself” when asked if withholding water, power and food was consistent with international law.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, gilded the lily even further by alleging that babies were raped on 7 October. That was a complete lie.
Some months later, the Scottish National Party proposed a motion for debate on whether the British government should call for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was clear that there were many in Labour willing to break ranks with the party line, causing potential discomfort for Starmer.

However, Lindsay Hoyle, speaker in the House of Commons and the son of a Labour Friends of Israel co-founder, circumvented “sacred” parliamentary procedures and allowed the Labour Party to introduce an amendment.

Even more cynically, Hoyle defended his decision by claiming that he feared for lawmakers’ safety.

Hence the narrative that emerged was one of supporters of a ceasefire in Gaza having subverted Parliament, rather than the fact that parliamentary backers of Israeli slaughter had united to prevent their complicity from being exposed for all to see.

Starmer had avoided embarrassment, and the British public had been denied a debate on their government’s involvement in genocide. The establishment consensus would not be challenged and British complicity in Israel’s savagery against the Palestinian people would continue.

Silencing opponents

The extent of establishment fear and of its determination to shut down and stifle the British public’s expression of opposition to the ongoing Gaza genocide, was further exemplified by Rishi Sunak’s astonishing speech from Downing Street on 1 March, when he portrayed the country as under threat from “extremists” and claimed that “our democracy itself is a target.”

Taking clear aim at those protesting against the Israeli genocide, Sunak demanded stricter laws and more powers for the police. Sunak’s call echoed those that his party had been making since the start of the peace marches, when Suella Braverman, then the home secretary, sought to demonize those protesting against genocide as anti-Semitic by alleging that they were joining “hate marches.”

But it was Sunak’s reference to the result of a by-election in Rochdale, northern England, the day before, that betrayed the obvious unease that the peace movement was causing for the UK political class.

By-elections are held in Britain to fill parliamentary seats that become vacant, usually because a lawmaker has resigned or died. The Rochdale by-election was won by George Galloway, a vociferous opponent of the Gaza genocide – something that was “beyond alarming,” in the words of the prime minister.

The grotesque spectacle of a prime minister declaring democracy to be under threat due to the result of an exercise in democracy highlighted the sheer desperation and moral bankruptcy that permeates the ruling class, as it loses control of the narrative.

Interestingly, in the official transcript of Sunak’s speech, this part of the address and his personal attack on Galloway has since been redacted.

Sunak also said his government would “act to prevent people entering this country whose aim is to undermine its values.” Yet over the past eight months, we have seen a significant number of UK citizens taking part – as Israeli soldiers – in the Gaza genocide.

Despite the UK having a responsibility under international law to investigate and prosecute those who have committed these crimes, nobody returning has yet faced charges based on their activities in Gaza.

Education

With the British state leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to stifle any debate on Israel’s crimes and the UK’s consequent complicity in genocide, education has also been targeted.

In the early stages of the genocide, British schools were urged to play their part in complying with the official narrative.

On 17 October, the UK’s Education Secretary Gillian Keegan sent a letter to schools across Britain telling them to ensure that student activity should not create “an atmosphere of intimidation or fear.”

Responding to what she described as “the barbaric terrorist attacks in Israel” she declared that the UK “unequivocally condemns these terrorist attacks and stands in solidarity with Israel in its hour of need.”

Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign in Gaza.

In fact, there was no mention of Gaza at all. Nor Palestine.

Keegan did ensure that she referred to Prevent, the program overwhelmingly used to target the Muslim community and criminalize Muslim children, in a transparent attempt to conflate expressions of sympathy towards Palestinians with “extremism” or “radicalization.”

Keegan also highlighted nearly $4 million of extra funding to “protect schools, colleges, nurseries and synagogues and other Jewish community buildings” – another blatant effort to create the perception that Palestine solidarity activists are dangerous.

Consequently, schools have been directed to ensure that “any political expression is conducted sensitively.” The overriding message to take from Keegan’s letter is that ultimately there can be no form of student “political expression,” particularly of a pro-Palestinian nature.

A month later, at an East London school, an 8-year-old child who had friends and family killed in Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, was punished by the school’s management for refusing to remove a small Palestine flag patch stitched into his coat.

The boy’s parents were also told that if he attended school the next day with his coat, he would not be welcome on school grounds. His parents were even warned that they could be referred to the Prevent program, while a number of families received letters from school management banning “this overt demonstration of political beliefs.”

As many parents pointed out, it was a different story regarding the conflict in Ukraine, when fundraising cake sales and flag days were fully encouraged.

Media

When it comes to providing cover for Israeli crimes and facilitating a genocide, the UK media has also played a crucial role.

Mainstream journalists have given the impression that everything began on 7 October. There is generally no history, no context, no background in their reporting.

Palestinians are portrayed as the embodiment of evil while their Israeli occupiers and jailers, who have had their iron heel on the neck of Palestinians for 75 years, are innocent victims of an inexplicable and irrational hatred.

That narrative allows governments and the media of the West to fabricate stories about mass rapes and the beheading of babies.

A detailed study by the Centre for Media Monitoring highlighted the role played by the UK mainstream media in perpetuating the Zionist narrative and covering up an ongoing genocide.

Aside from the lack of historical context, Israel’s “rights” were given considerable priority over those of Palestinians.

The study found that over 70 percent of the time when the words “atrocities,” “slaughter” or “massacre” were used, it was in reference to attacks against Israelis, while terms used to describe the deaths of Palestinians were often qualified with phrases such as “what they say is a massacre.” Language was also used to reinforce the Zionist narrative, with Palestinians “dying” while Israelis are “killed.”

The BBC – the UK’s state broadcaster – played a leading role in perpetuating Zionist propaganda.

Analysis by data specialists Dana Najjar and Jan Lietava of BBC coverage highlighted the dehumanizing agenda of the BBC. For example, humanizing terms such as “mother” or “husband” were used far less often when describing Palestinians, while emotive terms such as “massacre” or “slaughter” were almost exclusively applied to Israeli victims of violence.

Of course, the BBC applied the same bias when describing British citizens attending pro-Palestine demonstrations, echoing the government line of hate marches and conflating anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism. Those on the marches were reported as “voicing their backing for Hamas.”

The extent to which the media has sought to minimize coverage of the slaughter of the Palestinian people and to regurgitate Israeli and British government narratives, has seen them play an unforgivable role in facilitating months of murder.

“One thing is certain,” British journalist Peter Oborne wrote, referring to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. “If the court does find Israel guilty, the British media will have been complicit.”

Despite all the pro-Israel propaganda on their TV screens and in their newspapers, a considerable number of British citizens are refusing to be fooled.

Huge protests have been held in London and other parts of the country. More than eight months after the genocide began, the protests are still being organized.

Any hate on these marches is being directed against the decades of injustice endured by Palestinians and the central role which Britain has played in enabling it.

Originally from Ireland, Roddy Keenan is a journalist and author based in the UK.

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