Paradigm shift in the offing as Britain moves step closer to recognising Hamas
As the anti-Israeli atmosphere in Britain intensifies by the day, Britain’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee has now called on the British government to end its policy of not talking to the extreme anti-Semitic terror group Hamas while simultaneously urging the European Union to make its relationship with Israel conditional on good behaviour, the BBC is reporting today. The report was also carried in French and English by France’s top news agency, Agence France Presse.
The cross party group headed by Labour MP Michael Gapes — a self-declared friend of Israel — said that the policy of non-engagement with Hamas was ineffective. While criticising Hamas rocket attacks, it condemned Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza as “disproportionate”, criticised the blockade of Gaza, condemned settlement growth and urged the British Foreign Office to declare openly whether it believed Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza.
The committee had recommended reaching out to “moderates” in Hamas in 2007 but said such calls now had new impetus since Britain had begun engaging with the political wing of Hezbollah earlier this year.
Moves in this direction have been widely predicted and it may only be a matter of time before recognition of Hamas by the British government becomes a reality. The ground was laid in May when British Foreign Secretary David Miliband gave a speech in Oxford in which he sought to downplay the distinction between “moderates” and “extremists”. At the time, the Foreign Office denied that this was directed at Hamas.
But, in the context of last week’s announcement of a partial arms embargo by Britain against Israel and this latest parliamentary report, it seems clear that a paradigm shift is taking place in Britain’s attitudes to the Middle East.
Though famously unenthusiastic about European integration, Britain is perhaps the heaviest hitter in the EU in terms of foreign policy. Moves in Britain to recognise Hamas would undoubtedly strengthen the hand of constituencies across Europe which advocate a harder line on Israel and a softer line on groups such as Hamas.
For a broader explanation of why things have taken such a turn in Great Britain see my op-ed in the Jerusalem Post last week which is reproduced in an entry below.
To read the full BBC article referred to above, click here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8169105.stm
July 26th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I note that a key witness of the Committee was Professor Iain Scobbie of SOAS. He is the PSC’s favourite academic lawyer. He is completely biased and does logical somersaults in the interest of vilifying Israel.
July 26th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
http://biased-bbc.blogspot.com/2009/07/right-approach.html
‘Sue’ has a great comment here
July 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
This is the culmination of the drip-drip effect of decades of anti-Israel fanaticism from the liberal-left opinion formers. What have Labour MPs been reading and watching all these years? The Guardian and the BBC. Now the anti-Israel brigade are starting to achieve what they have always wanted. They have got the bit between their teeth. Pity the poor Jews who will suffer from this “progressive” bigotry.
July 26th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Writing from across the pond. What do the prospects of the expected Tory takeover hold for UK-Israel relations?
July 26th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
I want to thank you for your website.
The situation in the UK is becoming alarming. The majority of the establishment is increasingly anti-Israeli, which means, in fact, antisemitic.
It is sad to see the country of Winston Churchill, and its people, who fought so valiantly the nazis during WWII, be led by a bunch of anti-Jewish pro-Muslim anti-Western liberals.
(And what I say about the British politicians applies to many British journalists too)
I hope that your website will be able to open the eyes of some of your fellow citizens.
Keep on the fight for the truth !
July 26th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Note from Robin Shepherd: I am putting this comment up merely to illustrate the mentality of some of Israel’s opponents.
So who invented racial supremacism, tribalism and bigotry? David Duke, Adolf Hitler, the BNP …? No. Read the Talmud, ancient and modern Judaism’s central text pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. See how in this text Judaism denigrates others and justifies subjugation, slavery and exploitation of gentiles. Surely an ethos - religious, ethnic, cultural or national - which casts itself as superior in this way is destined to come into conflict - indeed, desires conflict - with other groups.