A senior Conservative MP has accused the British government of “gaslighting” the public about the action it is willing to take to prevent Israeli expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Kit Malthouse, who chairs the Conservative Middle East Council, told The National of the frustration in parliament over the government “dragging its feet” on the issue of settlements, as Israel seeks new construction tenders for a development in the West Bank.
The zone, known as E1, would sever the West Bank from Jerusalem.
The UK government updated its business guidance to advise British companies against trading with the illegal settlements. It also issued new sanctions against individuals and organisations it deemed responsible for violence in the West Bank. But it has stopped short of banning trade with illegal settlements.
“The sanctions are gaslighting. They’re not actually sanctions. They’re asset freezes. You can still sell bulldozers to the settlers. It’s a weird game of self-sabotage,” Mr Malthouse said.
“One of the frustrations in the House [of Commons] has been the government dragging its feet on this issue, throwing complexity in the path of what should be a relatively simply step,” he said.
He believes that moving to a trade ban would be a “relatively easy jump”, citing one imposed on Crimea after Russia’s annexation in 2014.
Mr Malthouse said he feared that the UK’s inability to take firmer action was contributing to its dwindling influence in the region.
“One of the most distressing [things] has been the slow destruction of British credibility in the region, the fact that we’ve become all talk and easy to ignore.
“We haven’t been in the room for any of the serious conversations. We’ve been on the periphery, pulled in when we’re of use to the Americans,” he said. “A lot of that comes from the fact that, as far as I can see, we have been just talk.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Attorney General Richard Hermer have said the government would be guided by international law in its foreign policy-making.
But critics say this has been selective, with the UK yet to adhere to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the situation in Palestine published two years ago.
“The most ignoble thing of all is our abandonment of international law, and its inconsistent application of it. It’s dangerous in the long term,” Mr Malthouse said.
Hamish Falconer, the Minister for the Middle East, frequently condemns Israel's illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, but this does little to appease MPs who want to see the UK take firmer steps.
Last week, Mr Falconer contacted the UK's Advertising Standards Authority about a London property event that was accused of advertising developments in at least seven illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Mr Starmer also faces a leadership challenge that could see the government change its position on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
But there are also concerns that the UK could soften its tone towards Israel should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lose elections in October to Naftali Bennett, who has built a coalition with the centre and centre left.
While a change of Israeli government could scale back some of the “most egregious” settlement activities, many of the projects in the West Bank would continue, according to Hugh Lovatt of the European Council of Foreign Affairs.
“That is a challenge for the UK. If Netanyahu is out of power, there will be a sigh of relief there and perhaps a desire to get back to business as usual,” Mr Lovatt said.
“But that doesn’t mean the settlement project stops, it doesn’t mean it will be reversed, it just means it will be less in your face,” he added.
The UK government’s recently launched a peace fund to support Israeli and Palestinian civil society organisations working towards coexistence has also been described as misplaced.
“A peace fund at a certain moment can be very useful, but this is not the right time.” said Chris Doyle, director of the Council of Arab British Understanding. “You can’t talk about coexistence at a time when you know you are bombing the hell out of Gaza, you’re taking land and everything else.
“You have to address the egregious abuses of human rights first, you have to end the hostilities in order to be able to produce the atmosphere in which credible work can be done,” he said.
