It is shocking how quickly memories of the atrocities of October 7 seem to have faded. It is not even six months since Hamas launched its murderous pogrom against Israel, killing around 1,200 men, women and children in a rampage reminiscent of the worst crimes of Islamic State.
In the aftermath of those attacks, Western leaders professed their solidarity with Israel, correctly arguing that it had every right to defend itself against the terrorists by sending its military into Gaza. Now that support is beginning to look decidedly shaky.
The Israeli strike on an aid convoy earlier this week, which tragically killed seven people, has been seized upon by critics of the British Government’s Israel policy as a reason for a change of direction. 600 lawyers have published an open letter calling for a suspension of arms sales, citing international law concerns. Labour has demanded the release of Foreign Office legal advice, while calls for a ceasefire continue to grow ever louder.
Given that British defence exports to Israel amounted to only £42 million in 2022, the last full-year data available, this row might appear to be a small matter. The UK has in the past suspended some arms sales – including in 1982 under Margaret Thatcher and in 2002 under Tony Blair – with little noticeable effect on Israeli policy.
But Israel will be concerned that any move by Britain could form part of a broader international shift that ends up delegitimising its military operations in Gaza, perhaps even denying it the ability to achieve its central war aim: the eradication of Hamas.
Israel has long had to endure a campaign of “lawfare” waged by activist groups, with legal concepts weaponised against it. In this context, it is left at a disadvantage when fighting an opponent like Hamas – a terrorist group that has no regard for international law or human rights – precisely because Israel is a legitimate democratic state that does take its responsibilities seriously.
That is why the Government has to tread carefully. It is understandable that concerns have been raised with the Israeli government over the strike on the aid convoy. But as Lord Frost wrote in this newspaper, Britain’s foreign policy should be determined by what is in this country’s interests. Destroying Hamas very much is, and Israel deserves our support in its efforts to achieve that objective.
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