The failure to criticise Israel’s actions in Gaza while condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked accusations of double-standards and “cherry-picking” international law that will dog departing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Middle East legacy, experts have said.
While the British leader and his Attorney General Richard Hermer denounced Moscow’s occupation, they have been less outspoken about Israel’s actions.
This happened despite both being lawyers who built their legal careers defending human rights and the rule of law, with Lord Hermer regularly promoting the rules-based order, stating in a speech only last week that “the UK should stand firmly by international law”.
Double standards
Analysts said that when it became clear that Israel’s campaign in Gaza was causing heavy civilian casualties – with about 74,000 Palestinians having died so far in the conflict – Mr Starmer's government should have issued far greater criticism, with the UK considered to be setting international standards for upholding the law.
“If Starmer’s Britain had been stronger in their language towards Israel, that could have made a difference,” said Hugh Lovatt, of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“It is just a fact that those two occupations are not treated equally and they should be, particularly by someone who is so concerned for rule of law.”
Others have accused the Prime Minister, who is expected to be replaced by Andy Burnham on Monday, of double standards.
“Let's call it the cherry-picking way,” said former Jerusalem honorary consul Sir Vincent Fean. “What applies to Russia with the invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine should be considered for application to Israel,” he added, referring to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
Britain, argued Miran Hassan of the Labour Party’s Middle East Council, “had really missed its chance to be a leader” globally.
“The UK should have taken a leading role in addressing Israel’s actions and convening on the world stage," he said.
He also pointed to a “lack of experience within the immediate No 10 team” on the Middle East.
But ultimately Mr Starmer and Lord Hermer understood that “whether we like you or not, Israel is an ally”, he added, and that would have influenced their thinking.
Mr Starmer was also elected leader in part to address the apparent anti-Semitism that gripped the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which could have made the Prime Minister more reluctant to criticise Israel.
Rules for all
But it is not only the accusation of failure to condemn Israel adequately or early enough that has been levelled at Mr Starmer.
While Britain has repeatedly condemned Russia's illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory, it has been far more hesitant to confront Israel after the “advisory opinion” from the International Court of Justice, which found that Israel's continued occupation of the Palestinian territories captured in 1967 is unlawful.
Giving evidence to the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on Tuesday, the UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, referring to the ICJ opinion, said that Britain would “take our own decisions about how we abide by international law” although it should “respect the advisory opinion and also its conclusions”.
“But ultimately, the new prime minister is going to have to reflect on exactly how he wants to respond to it,” she said.
Charlotte Leslie, chairwoman of the Conservative Middle East Council, said successive governments had failed to address the inconsistencies.
“Mr Starmer would either say he's not aware of those reports, or it's not the role of his government or himself to make a determination on international law matters, which I think is absolutely absurd,” she said.
“Not just given his own background, but the fact that, of course, and quite rightly, the British government is really quick to criticise Russian violations of international law.”
If Britain and many western countries had “one set of rules for one then it should not be one set of rules for the other”, she said, adding this was “very clearly not the case”.
Hermer’s law
Lord Hermer has long said that international law must be applied consistently. Before entering government in 2024, he described Israel’s siege of Gaza as “very, very difficult to reconcile with obligations of international law”.
Following a recent address at Chatham House think tank, he rebutted the accusations of Ukraine-Gaza “double standards”.
“I think we have been consistent and I don't think there have been double standards when it has come to this government to Israel, to Palestine and in particular to the Gaza conflict,” Lord Hermer said.
He also defended the Starmer government’s actions, highlighting dozens of licences suspended for arms exports to Israel, sanctions imposed on Israeli ministers and withholding opposition to International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We have to be mindful about double standards,” he said. “I don't think we can be fairly accused of them here.”
However, questions remain on whether the government lived up to the principles its own attorney general publicly championed.
Words matter
Mr Starmer’s widely condemned radio interview shortly after Hamas's devastating October 7 attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis, in which he refused to condemn cutting off water to Gaza, was an early indicator of his position.
“Words do matter,” said Mr Lovatt. “This set the tone for government policy going forward. What we saw in practice was an extreme reluctance to criticise.”
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a major speech in London in a bid to secure his premiership, following the Labour party's heavy losses in local elections in May. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer joins party supporters in a community centre in London as the local elections campaign enters the final straight. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer meets first responders from the Shomrin North West security patrol in Golders Green, London, in April. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer with Labour MP Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham on a visit to a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne in April. Getty Images -
President Sheikh Mohamed bids farewell to Mr Starmer after a meeting in April. UAE Presidential Court -
Mr Starmer meets aircrew members during a visit to Taif Airbase in Saudi Arabia in April. Getty Images -
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shakes hands with Mr Starmer at 10 Downing Street in March. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer welcomes Jordan's King Abdullah II and his son Crown Prince Hussein at 10 Downing Street in February. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer at the Forbidden City in Beijing during his visit to China in January. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, centre, sign a Declaration of Intent with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to send forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, during the Coalition Of The Willing meeting in Paris in January. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer attends a Diwali ceremony in Mumbai during his visit to India in October 2025. Getty Images -
US President Donald Trump and Mr Starmer announce an agreement between the two countries at a press conference conference at Chequers, England, in September 2025. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer delivers his keynote speech at the Labour Conference in Liverpool in September 2025. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer visits Downs Primary School in Harlow to outline government plans to extend free school meals in June 2025. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer and his wife Victoria serve tea and cake during a street party in Downing Street to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day, in May 2025. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer meets with Mr Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz onboard a train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in May 2025. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer poses for a photo after giving a speech on reducing NHS waiting times in January 2025 in Epsom. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer stands with Labour MPs at Church House in Westminster, London, days after the party's general election victory, in July 2024. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer chairs the first meeting of his cabinet. Getty Images -
Mr Starmer celebrates winning the July 2024 election with a speech at Tate Modern, London. Getty Images
“The Starmer government felt really only comfortable condemning Hamas. It was always very timid in any criticism of what Israel was doing and you don’t get any points for saying the right things too late.”
Support for Palestinian rights also “tended to be very begrudging and very belated", he added. That was why ultimately “they probably ended up pleasing no one”.
But diplomatic sources have also disclosed that “in private there was a little bit more pressure and pushback” from Lord Hermer “to make Starmer go a bit harder” against Israel’s action.
It is also alleged that the UK Foreign Office was keen not to decouple relations with Israel and did not push hard for condemnation, the source added, suggesting “there was an effort not to look too deeply at some of the violations”.
But Ms Cooper did hint at a new round of sanctions against Israel, suggesting that plans to build the illegal E1 settlement in the West Bank were “deeply damaging” to the two-state solution. “We need to have some stronger pressure, some stronger levers that we can put on,” she told MPs.
Burnham reboot?
Questions have also continued over Britain's broader role in the conflict, including the UK military's surveillance flights over Gaza, about which ministers have repeatedly declined to comment in detail, citing national security.
It is understood Mr Burnham will take a harder line against Israel with the potential to ban imports from illegal settlements while also sanctioning senior government figures.
Banning trade was an easy win, “when the settlements are by definition on illegal land”, Sir Vincent said, adding that “logically the product of those settlements’ goods or services are also in my opinion illegal”.
Ultimately, diplomats and analysts say that it is not that Britain condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine too strongly, but that it failed to apply the same legal and moral standards to Palestine.
