Feeble Britain is now letting Hamas win the propaganda war
“If Algeria introduced a United Nations resolution declaring that the Earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it,” said the legendary Israeli diplomat Abba Eban, “it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.” This wry observation rings truer than ever today.
We have entered a topsy-turvy universe. International institutions are used as weapons of Hamas, while those fighting for freedom and democracy are smeared as the agents of genocide. On Friday, the Americans betrayed their close ally at the UN Security Council, calling for a ceasefire which would curtail Israel’s progress to victory. Ironically, it was blocked by Russia, China and Algeria because it also made demands of the terrorists.
The change in the weather began with President Biden accusing Israel of “indiscriminate bombing” (even though its warfighting relies on American precision munitions) and going “over the top” (in desperately trying to protect its citizens from the most savage enemy imaginable). It continued with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer calling for the defenestration of Israel’s elected leader (as if it was some banana republic).
It gathered steam with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken openly opposing an assault on Rafah (which is essential to the defeat of Hamas) and it concluded at the Security Council this week. Although with Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that Rafah must fall with or without American support, it has not concluded at all.
Britain has been tagging along. Former defence secretary Ben Wallace has accused Israel of a “killing rage”. And Lord Cameron has suggested that Britain would recognise a Palestinian state over the heads of the Israelis, who would then, presumably, be forced to defend their people against a new, authoritarian country in which three-quarters of the population welcomed October 7.
This week, the Foreign Secretary upped the ante again, threatening to withhold British weapons if Israel did not allow the Red Cross to visit Hamas prisoners, in keeping with the Geneva Convention. But that relationship broke down a few months back when the Red Cross ignored the plight of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, even refusing to transfer medication to an 84-yearold grandmother held by Hamas when her daughter delivered it to their offices. The Foreign Secretary doesn’t seem too worried about that.
Lord Cameron also vowed to halt arms sales if Israel attacked Rafah.
Given that 70 per cent of imported Israeli arms come from the United States, and those from France, Germany and Italy also constitute a larger percentage than those from Blighty, it is hard to see what this is supposed to achieve. But these are the times we live in: showing that you care about the Palestinians is apparently more important than destroying jihadism.
Humanitarian concerns must be urgently taken into account. But while Israel has achieved a civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio that is likely lower than in any comparable theatre of war, Hamas has convinced the world that it is acting out of wanton bloodlust. The goal is simple: to use international pressure to force Israel to end the war.
The broadcast media and international institutions have become complicit in Hamas’s campaign. Footage of suffering civilians is ubiquitous, but have you ever seen a picture of the thousands of dead or wounded terrorists? Hamas censors this material. No Western media outlet makes this clear to its viewers. This is a deceit that turns public opinion against Israel, furthering the aims of Hamas.
Which brings me to the UN. In an attempt to stop the IDF from invading Rafah, it is shouting loudly about the suffering of the people of Gaza, which it naturally blames on Israel rather than Hamas. But in the year before October 7, the UN Human Rights Council condemned Israel more than twice as many times as any other country, while the General Assembly condemned the Jewish state more than the rest of the world combined.
After October 7, it took the UN’s women’s rights body nearly eight weeks to criticise Hamas’s sexual violence. Five months on, the UN Security Council has still not condemned the October 7 atrocities. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice – the judicial organ of the UN – has failed to throw out an absurd case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of “genocide”.
In Gaza, employees of the UN agency delivering aid to the Palestinians took part in the October 7 massacre. In February, Israel said a Hamas intelligence centre had been found beneath a UN headquarters in Gaza City, with electricity cables running through the floor of the building. Can these people really be trusted?
As many as 10,000 Hamas terrorists could be holed up in Rafah. As Israel’s opposition leader Benny Gantz put it, there’s no point extinguishing 80 per cent of a fire. Allowing a rump of Hamas to survive would mean another October 7 in the future, followed by another war. It would destroy all hope of a two-state solution, which
In a sane universe, the democratic world would pull behind Israel until the war is won
the jihadis bitterly oppose. It would make peace a pipe dream.
In a sane universe, the democratic world would pull behind Israel until the war is won. It would express its differences behind closed doors, working together to limit civilian casualties while freeing the hostages and beating the jihadis. This would reassure Saudi Arabia that the West stands by its friends, encouraging it to normalise relations with Israel.
Instead, the international community is mobilising to block an Israeli victory, and at the same time it is blocking peace. Deep underground, the leaders of Hamas must be licking their lips.