Politics: the Palestine obsession

By Richard North - February 19, 2024

I don’t know whether the word irony even begins to describe the recent contrast between two events. The first, as the Guardian tells it, is that that hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza are “fading”, amid Netanyahu’s repeated rejection of calls to hold off on a Rafah ground offensive.

The second is Starmer – still basking in the glow of his party’s victories at Wellingborough and Kingswood – who has popped up out of the woodwork to declare that fighting between Israel and Hamas “must stop now” as he signals yet another of his periodic U-turns, this time shift his party’s official stance on a ceasefire in Gaza.

What brings the issue into focus for him, it seems, is an SNP motion in the Commons on Wednesday, calling for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel”, a motion doubtless triggered by the Muslim, Pakistani-heritage Humza Yousaf, doubtless with the approval of his Palestinian-heritage wife, Nadia Maged El-Nakla.

There can be few other reasons for the SNP to bring this issue to parliament, and no valid ones for a party which was set up to campaign for Scottish independence and, under devolved powers, currently runs (very badly) the government of Scotland.

With the government having already decided its policy on Gaza and showing no indication of making any changes in the near future (Cameron notwithstanding), there is little justification for raising the issue in the Commons, and many good reasons why MPs should devote their time and energies to UK issues.

In fact, the self-indulgent obsession on Palestinian politics mark another deterioration in the standing of parliament where MPs such as Zarah Sultana, member for Coventry South, and Naseem Shah, member for Bradford West seem to be more interested in the deeds of the Israeli government than they are the affairs of Downing Street.

No doubt, Starmer is bowing to the pressure from within his party in shifting his stance, but he seems to be going well beyond the bounds of his previous decision to call for a pause in the fighting. This time he is calling for a permanent ceasefire, essentially giving the game to the terrorist Hamas group.

This was at the Scottish Labour conference on Saturday, where delegates passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. And, to make matters worse, Starmer told the conference the ceasefire must be followed by putting a two-state solution “back on the table” that ensures a “safe and secure Israel” and a “viable Palestinian state” that is not beholden to Israel.

As further sign of the total lack of realism, he went on to say that, “Any ceasefire cannot be one-sided. It must stop all acts of violence on both sides and it must lead to a genuine peace process”. Yet, any expectation that Hamas, as long as it exists in any coherent form, will forego violence against Israel is strictly for the birds.

What seems to be concerning Starmer in the short-term (or intensifying the pressure on him) is the offensive threatened on Rafah, This, Starmer says, is “a place where 1.5 million people are now cramped together in unimaginable conditions with nowhere else for them to go, this cannot become a new theatre of war”. As a result, he proclaims: “That offensive cannot happen”.

For all this concern, though, Starmer and his fellow travellers are curiously silent on the activities of the Egyptians. As displaced Palestinians mass at the border, the Egyptian government is building a massive new wall along a newly bulldozed 2-mile-wide buffer zone, to reinforce the existing barriers in place.

This is no token gesture on the part of the Egyptians. The wall is a serious (and expensive) piece of construction, six metres (20 ft) high with multiple coils of razor wire, extending five metres (16ft) underground to make tunnelling more difficult (pictured(.

Although the purpose of the wall and buffer zone is obvious, Egyptian authorities are claiming that barrier is being built for purely security and preventive purposes and that it has nothing to do with isolating or besieging the Palestinian people.

The reality is, though, that the Egyptians do not want Palestinians in any numbers on their territory, any more than does Jordan, Lebanon or any other Arab state. And yet the hardship in Gaza is all the fault of the Israelis.

Such is the grip of this obsession with Israel, though, that it is penetrating deep into the fabric of British politics. Thus we have Mohammed Shafiq, CEO of the Ramadhan Foundation, telling all and sundry that the Rochdale by-election is a referendum on Gaza, declaring that galvanising the Muslim vote on the “single issue of Palestine” would be “really powerful” in the forthcoming contest.

On the face of it, this could explain Starmer’s volte face, except that Labour no longer has a dog in the fight in Rochdale, having disowned its candidate, Azhar Ali, who is now running as an independent.

This leads to a bizarre situation where there will be two candidates fighting on the Gaza ticket, the other being George Galloway. Although Galloway is favoured by the bookies, the pair could possibly split the vote, letting in the Tory candidate, Paul Ellison. Much may depend on how well Reform does, as it would rob the Tories of a victory.

Whatever the outcome there, the result will be a complete mess for all the parties, and another indication of how the Palestine obsession has corrupted British politics. Rarely has a by-election descended into such a shambles, with the Green candidate also having stepped down, shamed by his antisemitic rhetoric.

The situation has been further complicated by the Israeli decision to delay the Rafah offensive until 10 March, and to reframe the fight by making the entry into the city as a direct response to Hamas’s refusal to give up the hostages.

Thus, once again and very clearly, the Israeli are reminding the world that Hamas could stop the pain in an instant, simply by returning the hostages. That, plus the delay until after the Rochdale election could take some of the heat out of the Gaza issue, or at least help reframe the debate.

Interestingly, Ramadan starts on 10 March, which may be framed by the Palestinians and their supporters as a provocation – not that it has prevented the jihadists mounting their attacks in the past – in which case we might see an uptick in the ritual squealing in the London street demonstrations, echoed in parliament.

Here, there is another sinister effect beginning to impact on the political process, as MPs are being threatenedin their own homes, with Tory MP Tobias Ellwood recently targeted by Palestinian demonstrators.

Nor are threats confined to the Tories. Recently, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was accosted by campaigners about her stance on Gaza, while she was out campaigning in Leeds.

But now we see the emergence of a new Muslim campaign which aims specifically to disrupt forthcoming elections, as the focus solely on Gaza.

With the specific threat of violence and disruption in the air, there is an increasing tendency of MPs to detach themselves even further from public contact, one of the many factors which is damaging our democratic processes.

Our democracy is fragile enough as it is and we cannot afford this obsession, which is distracting from the vitally important issues we face at home.