The New York Times has reported in a newsletter this morning that:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet today approved his proposal for a gradual military takeover of Gaza, his office said. The plan goes against the advice of Israel's military and promises to take the two-year conflict into unknown territory.
Under the proposal, the military would conquer the core of Gaza City and, at a later stage, push into central areas of the enclave where Hamas is believed to be holding Israeli hostages, and where the military has largely refrained from operating before.
My heart bleeds for the people of Gaza.
But let's be clear, it also bleeds for the people of Israel as well.
And it bleeds for all those, whoever they might be, who inevitably will lose their lives as a result of this.
The Israeli military and security forces warned against this action. They know they cannot beat Hamas. I suspect they are astute enough to understand the Palestinian cause is an idea that they cannot extinguish, whatever Netanyahu says about Hamas.
More than that, they know that an oppressed and desperate people will fight because there is nothing else left for them to do, and the cost to Israel will be very high.
In that case, the only explanation for what is happening is that Netanyahu wants this invasion (it is not a war) to continue because he knows that is the only way he can avoid going to prison for his past crimes, the certain knowledge of which incarceration appears to motivate all his actions, and drives him to ignore all advice and any concern for the wellbeing of others.
Rarely have so many died to preserve the desire of one man to escape justice, but that is what is happening in Israel now.
We should weep for a country brought so low, and for all its victims.
More than that, though, we should stand up to his utterly unacceptable regime.
We should stop arming Israel.
We should impose sanctions.
We should deliver aid by sea and defy his troops.
We should recognise Palestine, unconditionally, and demand that its people be set free, including from constraint by us.
We should demand that Netanyahu stand trial for war crimes.
And we should weep for the fact that our country is doing none of those things. It has abandoned all of Netanyahu's victims, wherever and whoever they are. And we should collectively hang our heads in shame and blame those who have let that happen here, when we could have taken a stand. We all know who they are.
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Our government has not just abandoned the Palestinians. Starmer is actively aiding and abetting Netenyahu in his vicious campaign and making it a crime to even show sympathy for the victims of genocide.
The criminalisation of protest is one of the most concerning aspects of this, and highlights for me just how far LINO has strayed from its roots.
Thanks partly to this blog, and the suggestion to use ChatGPT, I have written a number of times to my MP (LibDem) recently. I did receive a reply to my letter about the recent proscription of Palestine Action, which I found interesting. The vote was for the proscription of three groups, one of which was Palestine Action (PA) . The LibDem party line was to abstain, primarily because of the way PA was bundled in with two other groups.
What can we do? Except continue to provide whatever support we can to Palestine’s cause, and to be proudly vocal about it.
Why are you protecting Hamas? They cite the destruction of all jews as their primary objective. Isreal want to rid Palestine of Hamas and put in place a government run by the people who is not hell bent on destroying jews. That is the only way there will be lasting peace. Do you not see that?
No I don’t see that, because there can never be peace by oppression.
And you are anyway wrong to say I am supporting Hamas. I have never said any such thing, and won’t.
I have said I support Palestinians. That is different.
You are making Hamas the issue. I made Israeli tyranny against Palestinians the issue. I think my focus correct. What don’t you?
I agree with everything you say here, Richard. I’ve said some similar things in letters to our Australian Prime Minister, our Foreign Minister and our local Federal MP. Predictably, they’ve taken the well-troddened path of what’s been called ‘soft diplomacy’ in this country, always mindful of our great ‘friend’ in the US.
Thanks
Richard has replied to your accusations about him.
I simply want (without supporting Hamas) to say that your statements about Hamas and Israel are open to factual challenge and do not accurately represent reality as it has played out over 77 years and particular, since Hamas took over in Gaza with Netanyahu’s practical and political support.
I won’t repeat stuff I’ve referenced here before (mostly from Israeli sources), but truth is far more important than propaganda.
People need to be reminded that Netanyahu was involved in the establishment of Hamas, being of the opinion that an Islamist competition to the secular PLO would be a useful way of dividing Palestinians. I believe he actually appointed a general to the task.
This is lesson learned from the way the British Empire was ruled or otherwise controlled, the continuation of the castle system in India being another.
A typical settler-colonial solution to a problem with the indigenous people.
@PeteWard….I would be interested to learn of your reference source for “They cite the destruction of all jews as their primary objective”.
The Hamas charter of 2017 rejects the right of Israel to exist which is far from the same thing. Hamas, as a Democratically elected government, have a militarised wing that has the right, recognised in international law, to resist an occupying oppressor.
The Zionists unilaterally declared there to be a state of Israel after the particularly brutal nakba of 1948 which hardly accords it legitimacy….and I believe that any reasonable person in full command of the facts would tend to agree.
The profound injustice that the Zionists have been visiting on the Palestinians for over a hundred years; Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, is at the very root of the global outcry that we see today.
A sophisticated military machine is waging an asymmetric conflict, indiscriminately tearing life from limb, and the peoples of the world are sickened by it.
If the general consensus is that there should be a state on the planet that mandates only Jewish inhabitants then so be it but Zionist aggression is not the way to achieve this.
But Richard, Starmer said this very morning that what Israel is now proposing – is ‘wrong’.
Surely that will make them stop, much more than merely stopping the arms sales, applying sanctions, stopping the spy flights from UK Cyprus base, stopping the ongoing discussions between govt ministers and officials with Israel, recognising Palestine and all that?
I hope to join others in central London on Saturday to congratulate him for his expression of disagreement with genocide and for locking up people who protest against it.
I agree with everything you’ve said here, Richard. In letters to our Australian Prime Minister, our Foreign Minister, and our local Federal MP, I’ve said similar things. Predictably, their responses have been rather platitudinous. Their approach towards Israel is one of ‘soft diplomacy’.
Very much to agree with. Woeful.
Several weeks ago you posted, from the FT, a letter written by around 40 influential Jewish leaders – please will you remind me of this as it is so pertinent – why does Netanyahu not heed these people? What have the Palestinian people done to deserve his cruelty? You are correct to make Israeli tyranny against Palestinians the issue – why are Trump and Starmer so blind to this tyranny? These are purely rhetorical questions – and, like you, I despise genocide and deliberate starvation – yes, collectively hang our heads in shame that the UK government is allowing this.
They were all members of the Bitish Board of Deputies and all of them were, I gather, suspended for it.
The National newspaper reported on 25 June that 5 of the 36 who signed the letter were suspended, and the rest were cautioned
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2025/06/25/uks-largest-jewish-body-suspends-five-members-after-criticism-of-israel/
thank you – I have now found a recent link in the Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/30/british-jewish-leaders-call-for-rapid-increase-in-gaza-aid?CMP=share_btn_url
https://bod.org.uk/bod-news/statement-on-constitutional-committee-investigation/
The letter was from April.
This is the BoD official response in June.
4 suspensions, the others were censured.
At the time I noticed from my regular perusal of the Jewish Chronicle, other evidence of the increasing public fragmentation of opinion amongst British Jews, and demands from Israel and some British Jewish leaders, for “unity” (ie: support for Israel) from diaspora Jews.
I’m at a loss as to what to say.
Occupying Gaza, as well as the encroachment elsewhere in Palestine which is another from of occupation is just going to come with reprisals.
If we occupied Israel because we felt that they could not conduct themselves properly in the region, then for sure certain Israeli Zionists would fight the occupiers of their lands.
This is mass goading of a Palestinian population in order to get a response to maintain the justification for scattering them to the four winds.
This is what ‘forever war’ looks like then?
Sooner or later the killing will end in Palestine. What then? There can be no return to “normality ” for Israel. The state cannot exist as before . How can they be part of the family of nations? They are in the same position as Nazi Germany in 1945. How can they ever be trusted not to repeat the exercise? The crimes Israel have committed are so unbelievably bad. Some of the worst in recorded history. I cannot bear to watch the deeds or even listen to the reports. Israel must be regarded as a pariah state. Stripped of nuclear weapons certainly. Limited military forces . Kept under surveillance for a period. The leadership prosecuted and severely punished. Those who participated in the genocide punished too. Even those who gave support . Such as parts of the media. I would like to see the ultimate culprits dragged before the court in the Hague. I refer to the USA. Alas, that is unlikely.
I have been musing on the seem theme – to write a blog.
Thanks Richard. My heart also bleeds for the people of Gaza. I hope this post isn’t too long but I wanted to share with your readers a statement from a Labour MP. He’s a friends MP in a neighbouring constituency and this was his response to her letter on Gaza. It was through him that I learned of a protest gathering last Sunday in Keswick. It was small, maybe 200, but very moving, especially a speech by a Palestinian woman with her two beautiful smiling children. I did hang my head, it was unbearable to think about the fate of so many of their friends and family. I wrote to my MP, copying in the statement from below and asking for his response, so far no reply. As with the welfare reforms, it’s way past the time for our MP’s to speak out. I hate this feeling of helplessness.
Statement from Markus Campbell-Savours, MP for Penrith and Solway: “Over the past year I have seen the growing outrage over the Israeli government’s actions towards Palestinians in Gaza. Harrowing images flood social media and television: maimed and starving civilians, parents mourning their dead children, communities clawing through rubble.
“My constituents are rightly furious and demand action. This frustration echoes in Parliament. For months, statements and urgent questions about the Middle East have drawn packed chambers, with MPs across party lines expressing rising outrage. Yet asking these questions has been anything but easy.
“Members of smaller opposition parties are almost guaranteed a spot, while Labour MPs face stiff time constraints. Despite repeated attempts, I’ve only been called once to speak on this issue. Many colleagues now share deep disappointment over the government’s tepid response.
“What was once seen as a leftist cause now unites MPs across the political spectrum in demanding recognition of a Palestinian state — a position I’ve consistently held since protesting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and standing in solidarity with Palestine two decades ago.
“It is therefore difficult not to feel angry that the Prime Minister, the leader of my party, continues to equivocate on Palestinian statehood. This is not a bargaining chip in negotiations. This is not a trade deal. This is a genocide.
“Our attempts at constructive diplomacy have failed. We’ve not even managed to get food to the starving. The Likud-led coalition, propped up by extremists, has shown a disregard for human life that will leave a lasting stain on Israel’s history. Our government must act decisively.
Broad sanctions — not symbolic gestures. A full suspension of military and intelligence support. A boycott of Israeli goods. An international coalition to control the flow of aid. And immediate recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state, as pledged in the Labour Party manifesto and promised to those who elected me.”
Very good
Thank you
For what it’s worth, 38Degrees has a petition out which has gone from a standing start at about 4pm this afternoon, to now over 25K signatures.
https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/stop-israeli-military-support
Thanks.