The UK government has adopted its reflexive posture on the core conflict in West Asia by ignoring Israeli military assaults on Palestinian civilians and instead shifting all the blame onto Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups.
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UK maintains deafening silence on Israeli onslaught on Gaza
Wednesday, 12 May 2021 5:22 PM
[ Last Update: Wednesday, 12 May 2021 6:01 PM ]
Dominic Raab (L) has confirmed he has had a phone call with Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi (R)
More than three days into Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip and the UK government has to yet to comment, let alone condemn, Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged enclave.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has limited himself to a bland tweet in which he confirms his discussion with Israeli foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, before condemning “Hamas rocket attacks” against alleged civilian targets in Israel.
Raab makes no mention of the civilian casualties in Gaza nor does he discuss the lead-up to the latest round of violence, notably the unlawful eviction of Palestinian residents from the Sheikh Jarrah district in East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) and the brutal Israeli assault on worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
By contrast, former Labor Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has been unequivocal in placing the blame for the latest round of conflict, as well as the lead-up to it, squarely on Israel.
Corbyn tweeted that Israel could end the “bloodshed” by ending the siege of Gaza and the “occupation of Palestine”.
The vacuity at the heart of the government’s position was brought into sharper relief by a series of tweets on the conflict by the former chairwoman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi.
In one tweet Warsi cautioned against creating a “culture of fear” and suffocating “free speech” on the issue of criticizing Israeli actions in the occupied territories.
Once a stalwart of the Tory party, more recently Baroness Warsi has become a critic of government attitudes towards British Muslims, in addition to opposing the UK’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.