'Labour will damage relations with Israel beyond repair...the first steps have already been taken' - Gary Mond
"Anglo-Israeli relations are in for a tough time," says Gary Mond
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What, exactly, will the new Labour government do in respect of its relationship with Israel? The answer is that its actions are likely to damage the relationship, perhaps beyond repair.
It is widely believed that the key components of its policies will be (i) the recognition of a Palestinian state (although the timing is debatable); (ii) the termination of arms sales to Israel and (iii) the upholding of any decision to arrest Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant should they step foot on British soil.
Its first anti-Israel measure has already been taken, namely the resumption of funding of UNRWA, a UN organisation that not only participated in the Hamas massacres of over 1,200 people on October 7 but has also worked hand in glove with Hamas in allowing its assets to be used in the war against Israel.
UNRWA has also been responsible for indoctrinating generations of Gazan children to hate Israel. Other steps likely to follow are the imposition of sanctions against what it terms “settlers” (the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria) and Israeli government ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, acting in conjunction with the Biden administration.
My fear is that all the above only constitutes the hors d’oeuvres. The main course will be much worse and will follow. My belief about this is predicated on one vitally important statistic when it comes to attitudes toward Israel, which to date has conveniently been ignored.
In the last Parliament, the number of MPs who belonged to political parties which generally preferred the Palestinian cause as opposed to Israel (Labour, Lib Dems, Greens, SNP and others) was roughly 270.
In this Parliament, that figure (and now we must include some “pro-Palestinian” independent MPs) has soared to about 505. Why is this important? The key reason is that, if the Labour government is seen to drag its feet on matters to the advantage of those who hate Israel, then private members might well push the government far further than it really wants to go.
An early indicator of this trend is that questions are already being asked on why the government has not already recognised a Palestinian state, as Norway, Spain and Ireland have. Wasn’t that supposed to happen on “Day One” of the new government?
Indeed, just a few days ago Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, demanded that a Palestinian state be recognised “immediately”.
So, what else might happen? If relations with Israel deteriorate, and if the above-mentioned steps are taken as they surely will be, pressure will build for other radical anti-Israel steps, especially within the UK.
One can foresee British charities that support Israel losing their charitable status, the banning of UK-Israeli dual nationality, a huge reduction of trade between the UK and Israel in both directions, a widescale severance of links between British and Israeli institutions and possibly even the halting of direct flights from the UK to and from Israel.
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Many of these steps will be driven by Israel-hating Parliamentary backbenchers but will gain support across much of the House of Commons.
It will also not be possible to argue that it is simply a matter of Netanyahu’s government being intransigent. Should he depart the political scene, a new Israeli prime minister is likely to come from either the Likud or another right-wing grouping.
Its policies on all the important issues regarding the Palestinians, a “two state solution”, the residents of Judea and Samaria and relationships with the outside world will barely be changed. The prospect of a government of the political centre and/or left coming to power which supports the “two-state solution” is negligible.
One argument that can be made against my analysis above is that, within the Parliamentary Labour Party, there are quite a few friends of Israel. This is certainly true, but with two caveats.
First, they are heavily outnumbered by Labour MPs who are more sympathetic to the anti-Israel perspective. Second, even among these who sympathise with Israel generally, all or almost all support the two-state solution (which I and many others believe will lead to the ultimate destruction of the Jewish state), most loathe Netanyahu, and some would even agree to certain restrictions on Israeli arms sales.
In conclusion, Anglo-Israeli relations are in for a tough time. Those who support Israel need to do their best to try to counter forthcoming developments as best they can.