Unexpected event alert - containing possibly positive news !!

This Green and Surprisingly Pleasant Land examines the implications of Britain’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel

Unlikely as it seems Britain’s new government may have made a modest contribution to alleviating the Israel Palestine conflict.

Its decision, based on law (but political in nature), to impose a limited ban on military exports to Israel has the potential to exert pressure on the extremist right wing government in Jerusalem which is reluctant to reach an agreement for an end to the war in Gaza.

Britain was not the first to limit arms sales to Israel as Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, other traditional allies of Israel, have already reduced or limited arms supplies. In military terms the impact of these moves will be minimal, Britain, for example, is responsible for less than 0.5% of Israel’s armory.

Significantly the United States, a far more important backer of Israel, has indicated its quiet backing while avoiding imposing its own arms ban  - a carefully calibrated response in the middle of a bitter presidential election campaign.

This is a body blow to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister. He has long heavily relied on international support and is adept at manipulating the countries that have consistently backed the Jewish state even when his actions test that support to the limit.

No wonder then that he has responded furiously to this about face.

Meanwhile, and equally unsurprisingly, there has also been anger from those who consider themselves to be the most avid supporters of the Palestinians. They want action against Israel  to go much further.

While they rage, the people who matter – the mass of the people on the ground - may well have an entirely different view of pressure for negotiation to end the Gaza war. Israelis, in unprecedented numbers, have staged large demonstrations and organized a general strike aimed at forcing the Netanyahu government to stop obstructing negotiations.

The people of Gaza, a hollowed out hell hole controlled by the anti-democratic Hamas, have no means of protesting against their increasingly invisible government but there are widespread reports of anger and frustration directed at the leaders who ignited this war.

It is far from certain whether the pressure on Israel to negotiate will bear fruit. Israel’s most avid supporters question why the government in Jerusalem is even facing so much pressure which, they allege, is  tantamount to supporting Hamas. This accusation is the worst form of political idiocy. Unsurprising therefore that among those making it is the increasingly irrelevant former British premier, Boris Johnson.

As ever he has his own agenda, an agenda shared by others who seem not to know that Hamas is hopelessly out-gunned and has not the slightest prospect of military victory. The purpose of exerting pressure on Israel, which holds most of the cards in this war, is precisely because it is the stronger player. The Hamas leadership, depleted by Israeli assassinations, is more accustomed to denunciation from abroad and while publicly shrugging it off, is less immune to pressure than it cares to admit.

At the moment what we are seeing is nuanced pressure, something that is not appreciated by the most vociferous partisans in this conflict. They want everything painted in black and white.

Thus avid supporters of Palestine tend to be dismissive of countries like Britain which are seen as being pro-Israel. They also ignore the shift in Israeli public opinion on grounds that it is not based on anti-Zionism and not addressing the fundamental question of Palestinian statehood.

Some of those shouting loudest for Israel to be brought to heel are furthest away from the disaster that engulfs the region. They bask in a warm glow of self-righteousness while having the luxury of demanding that those in the firing line need to continue suffering until maximum objectives have been achieved.

Israel’s former foreign minister Abba Eban used to wryly say that the most avid Zionists overseas were prepared to fight to the last drop of Israeli blood. The same can be said of the Hamas spokesmen safely ensconced far from their people who defiantly say ‘we will fight to the last drop of the blood of Gaza.’ They are fortunate not to have to face the consequences of their bellicose demand. On the ground any kind of relief is more than welcome.

The reality is that a ‘perfect’ solution to the Israel-Palestine problem is highly unlikely to be found anytime soon but there is scope for compromises which curtail the slaughter.

Like all wars this one will be end in negotiation, the question is when and how much more horror will occur before both sides reach an agreement. Parties to the negotiations are not required to like each other, they rarely do, but they should like their own people enough to put an end to their suffering. That’s the theory, it remains to be seen whether it is true in this case.

Doubts exist because Mr. Netanyahu insists on the total elimination of Hamas, while Hamas calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Neither of these things are going to happen but a cessation of hostilities is within the realms of the possible. External pressure is propelling the combatants towards this position.