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Middle East Eye
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
‘Utter disaster': Critics slam Starmer's use of Palestinian statehood as bargaining tool
The British government's conditional recognition of a Palestinian state has been condemned by critics who say the move is an 'empty gesture' that will do nothing to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that the government would recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel 'takes substantive steps' to end the genocide unfolding in Gaza and agrees to a ceasefire. The statement has drawn fire from political commentators and aid groups who denounced the conditioning of recognition on Israel ending its siege on Gaza and agreeing to a ceasefire. 'Recognition should be because you as Britain recognise the rights of Palestinians to nationhood, to self-determination,' Chris Doyle, the director of Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), told Middle East Eye. Doyle pointed out that the conditions outlined in the statement - that Israel should take 'substantive steps' and 'end the appalling situation Gaza' - are unclear and more vaguely worded than previous government statements. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'So actually, amazingly, in some areas, it's weaker than previous government statements, where they have called for the UN to have unimpeded access. So it's an utter disaster. 'Nothing that the government announced yesterday, nothing will stop or slow down the genocide in Gaza,' Doyle emphasised. 'We are going to see additional horrors in Gaza'. Emily Thornberry: Starmer has 'a golden opportunity' to sway Trump on Gaza Read More » Ahead of the announcement, Starmer was facing mounting public outcry and pressure from MPs over Israel's war on Gaza, which he initially supported. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since 7 October 2023, and increasing numbers have been dying of Israeli-imposed starvation in recent weeks. A week before Starmer's announcement, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would officially recognise a Palestinian state in September - becoming the first of the G7 group of the world's richest countries to do so, and intensifying pressure on Starmer to follow suit. Doyle argued that Starmer could have announced a joint recognition with France, without conditionalities attached. 'There's enough in there to allow him to wiggle out of a recognition in September," said Doyle. "There's also just about enough, if Israel behaves even worse, that he can go forward. So he keeps his options open." 'A very weak card' British-Israeli analyst and former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy noted that, as pressure is mounting on states to act, state recognition has become 'the go-to place', allowing political leaders to look as if they are doing something significant to address the situation. 'It is something that doesn't require an actual reconfiguration in important elements in the bilateral relationship with Israel,' Levy told MEE. 'Arms and trade sanctions, or joining the South African case at the ICJ [International Criminal Court] on genocide, or looking at Israeli assets that are being held within your banking jurisdiction that you could freeze - those would be meaningful steps. This is something that's eminently dismissible, especially by Israel,' he said. 'We're also talking about surveillance fights over Gaza from RAF bases in Cyprus' - Sara Husseini, British Palestinian Committee Levy also questioned what the recognition would entail given Palestine is under permanent and illegal Israeli occupation. 'What actions are you going to take against the country that is occupying the state that you recognise to face a consequence for doing so. And the answer is: nothing at all.' Many have also pointed to the incoherence of the UK government's position on Israel, given it continues to supply it with arms. 'We're talking not just arms sales and the selling of crucial F-35 parts to maintain Israel's fighter jets. We're also talking about surveillance fights over Gaza from RAF bases in Cyprus. We're talking extensive allyship and support for a state that is in the dock for genocide,' Sara Husseini, director of the British Palestinian Committee, told MEE. 'Starmer is now playing this very weak card which he thinks will relieve his government from actually doing what needs to be done,' she added. 'Dangerous and inefficient' Earlier on Tuesday, a UN-backed global food security body said famine was unfolding across Gaza, with one in three children in Gaza City acutely malnourished. "Latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City,' the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in a new report. "Amid relentless conflict, mass displacement, severely restricted humanitarian access, and the collapse of essential services, including healthcare, the crisis has reached an alarming and deadly turning point." The warning comes as nearly 150 Palestinian children and adults in Gaza have died from starvation since Israel's onslaught on Gaza in October 2023. UK to recognise Palestinian state by September if no Gaza ceasefire reached Read More » Sangeetha Navaratnam-Blair, Senior Humanitarian Advocacy Manager at ActionAid UK, said the UK's move would do very little to alleviate the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 'It's clear at this point that words or condemnation from the UK haven't compelled the Israeli government to change course, and this threat does not appear to be something that would also encourage them to change their actions and to enable any legal supplies and humanitarian support to get into Gaza,' Navaratnam-Blair told MEE. Since Israel announced last Friday it would allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza, the UK signalled it was considering the idea, despite warnings from aid groups that the move will do little to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave. Navaratnam-Blair said the airdropping of humanitarian supplies 'is not going to come close to addressing the sheer volume of food, medicine and other supplies that is required by the people of Gaza'. 'It actually can be really dangerous and inefficient when it comes to people who have been starving for such a long period of time. They may experience refeeding syndrome and other negative impacts, if not supported by professional medical support,' she said. Since 2 March, Israel has prevented all food and aid from reaching starving Palestinians. Last week, more than 100 international human rights and humanitarian organisations called for an end to the siege, citing widespread starvation affecting their staff. Unrwa communications director Juliette Touma also told MEE last week that several of the organisation's staff fainted on duty due to malnutrition.
Middle East Eye
24-04-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
UK lifts sanctions on Syrian ministries and intelligence agencies
The UK has lifted sanctions on Syria's defence and interior ministries and a range of its intelligence agencies in a major move towards normalising ties with the country's new government. On Thursday morning, the UK Treasury published a notice revealing it has lifted asset freezes on Syria's General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency and Political Security Directorate, as well as its defence and interior ministries. This is despite the Syrian government being led by figures that were part of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the armed group that toppled Bashar al-Assad's government and remains a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, as well as in the US. Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new president, has urged Britain and other countries to lift all the sanctions that had been imposed on the country under Assad. 'The sanctions were implemented as a response to crimes committed by the previous regime against the people,' he told the New York Times in an interview published on Wednesday. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In March, the UK lifted sanctions on 24 Syrian entities, including state-owned oil companies and the state airline, becoming the first country to unfreeze all assets of the Central Bank of Syria. Britain's move marks a significant policy shift but is unlikely to have a major material impact without the United States following suit. 'Without the US making serious changes it may not amount to a massive change' - Chris Doyle, Council for Arab-British Understanding Chris Doyle, chair of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told Middle East Eye: "It is welcome to see sanctions being eased, but without the US making serious changes it may not amount to a massive change. The key will be when the US lifts banking sanctions and money transfers to Syria can be made." Earlier this year the US waived a ban on transactions with the Syrian government, facilitating humanitarian aid. But it has kept sanctions in place, making them contingent on a series of reforms. On 18 March, a US official handed Syria's foreign minister eight demands during a conference in Brussels. The US reportedly demanded that Syria's interim administration publicly ban all Palestinian armed and political activities and deport members of Palestinian armed groups to "ease Israeli concerns". Other demands included allowing US counterterrorism operations inside Syria, designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation and forming a unified Syrian army with no foreign fighters in key command roles. PIJ officials arrested The Syrian government appears to be taking steps to appease US demands. Authorities arrested two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders last week. Syria arrests senior PIJ officials after US sets demands for sanctions relief Read More » PIJ's armed wing, the al-Quds Brigades, said on Tuesday that the arrests occurred 'without any explanation' and in 'a manner we would not have hoped to see from our brothers, whose land has always been a haven for loyal and free people'. PIJ has long held a presence in Syria. The group has been the target of Israeli air strikes in recent months, including a 14 November attack on the suburbs of Damascus that killed 15 people, including several PIJ members. Since the fall of Assad, the Israeli army has carried out regular air raids and ground incursions into Syria, sometimes wounding and killing residents in the south. Israeli officials have called for a demilitarisation of southern Syria and claimed the new authorities are a threat to the Druze minority. But many Syrians across the country, including Druze in the south, have firmly rejected Israel's statements and military actions. In early March, a wave of attacks against the country's Alawite minority saw hundreds killed by armed militias, in what appeared to be revenge killings against people accused of being loyal to Assad.
Arab News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Access denied: how Israel is avoiding scrutiny of its actions
Much furor erupted last week when Israel denied entry and deported for the first time ever two British MPs. A barrage of nonsense was spewed about a delegation we at the Council for Arab-British Understanding helped organize. It was a delegation to the West Bank, not Israel. It was never about Israel, but about assessing humanitarian projects and the challenges facing Palestinian communities under occupation. The MPs were not there to spread hate against Israel. Yet the real story is not about these two Labour MPs, both of whom received welcome from the British government and parliamentary backing. It is that they and others are not allowed to witness the reality of life in the occupied Palestinian territory. Israeli denials of access are becoming more frequent. In February, two European members of the European Parliament were also refused entry and sent packing. Within the West Bank, leading international politicians have had their access curtailed by Israel. James Cleverly, when British foreign secretary, and his Irish and Norwegian counterparts were informed by Israeli authorities that they could not visit the village of Ein Samiya in the West Bank in September 2023. The village had been emptied of its Palestinian inhabitants. Even a development minister from Germany, one of Israel's closest allies and collaborators, was denied access into Gaza back in 2010. Gaza has been restricted for years. British politicians have not been allowed into the enclave via the Erez checkpoint since 2009. Even then, our delegation had to wait to be allowed in. One MP has made it through since, but she went as a breast cancer surgeon. UN agencies have all been restricted Chris Doyle However, all categories of those who might bear witness to Israeli activities have faced more arduous restrictions. Human rights groups are a prime target. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails. The exception was when overseeing Palestinian detainee release during the period of the recent deal. In 2019, Israel expelled Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch. International journalists, except some embeds, have not been allowed into Gaza since October 2023. Even during the recent pause in military operations, they were still not allowed access — a point made powerfully by the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen. Their Palestinian colleagues have clearly been targeted to prevent the story from being broadcast to the outside world. And who can forget the murder of the Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin in 2022? Diplomats as well have been denied access. None can get into Gaza. I have witnessed a local Israeli commander produce an order declaring a village in the south Hebron hills a closed military zone as a large European diplomatic delegation arrived to visit the site, which had been under attack from Israeli settlers. The date of the order was not even accurate. The diplomats had to leave. UN agencies have all been restricted. International staff have increasingly found it harder to get visas, particularly since 2018. The Knesset has banned the UN refugee agency UNRWA from operations in all the areas under Israeli control. This included ordering six UNRWA schools closed in occupied Jerusalem. Israel will not accept any entry of UN commissions of inquiry or, since 2008, any of the UN special rapporteurs on occupied Palestinian territories. Gaza is close to being totally cut off Chris Doyle Humanitarian agencies have likewise seen intensifying restrictions. Since 2023, international workers have been able to apply only for short-term visas. They now face a new set of draconian restrictions, not least over a new Israeli NGO registration system. The draft legislation will grant Israeli authorities extensive powers to ban and restrict registrations of NGOs and to deny staff entry. All existing NGOs will have to reapply for permits. This creates an environment of anxiety about whether life-saving projects will be able to continue. Healthcare workers have also been a target. According to the UN, over 400 aid workers, including 280 UN personnel, have been killed in Gaza in the past 18 months. Yet getting doctors and medical professionals in has been more difficult, too. Gaza is close to being completely and totally cut off. Internet access has been severed on occasions by Israel, but remains highly reduced. However, the story, the images, and the video footage still gets out. Even if the full scale of the horror is not comprehensively documented, the evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide stacks up every day. In the West Bank, the stage is set for a similar scenario. All the tools are there to bring it about, not least dozens of new checkpoints. Israel controls all entry and access. International actors have to push back on this. Israel would like to further its process of ethnic cleansing and genocide away from prying eyes. The antidote is to open all the Palestinian territories for proper scrutiny of what is happening.
Middle East Eye
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Opinion: Deportation of British MPs aims to hide Israeli crimes
For the first time in history, the Israeli government has deported two elected British members of parliament. While it has previously denied entry to politicians from other countries, including two members of the European Parliament in February, it had never before done so in the case of Britain, which is theoretically an ally of Israel. The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) has organised and escorted dozens of British parliamentary delegations to the Middle East in recent decades, especially to the occupied Palestinian territories. It came as a shock to learn of the deportations. The delegation, organised jointly with Medical Aid for Palestinians, included two British Labour members of parliament, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang. Elected just last year, neither had previously visited Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories. Their weekend ordeal of detention, interrogation and deportation was, of course, nothing in comparison to what Palestinians in the occupied territories endure on a regular basis. Israeli forces patrol the occupied West Bank in September 2021 (Jalaa Marey/AFP)
The Independent
07-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Falconer: All MPs should be worried by blocking of two MPs from entering Israel
A Foreign Office minister has said all MPs should 'be worried' by the decision to block two Labour MPs from entering Israel. Hamish Falconer said both Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed, who made the trip with charity partners as part of an MPs' delegation, had his 'support and solidarity'. Ms Mohamed told the Commons they had been denied entry 'based on our legitimate political opinions, which are firmly aligned with international law'. In a statement, Mr Falconer said the MPs 'were going to see for themselves what is taking place in the occupied territories, and to meet those directly affected by the shocking rise in settler violence'. He added: 'Such visits are commonplace for MPs from across this House and from all parties, indeed, I'm told that more than 161 Members of Parliament have conducted such visits. 'They enrich the knowledge and experience of us as legislators and representatives. They create connections with countries, political counterparts, and civil society. 'Indeed, I note that both organisations – Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Council for Arab-British Understanding – have supported visits from all the main political parties, including the benches opposite. All members should therefore be worried by what this decision means and the precedent it sets. 'So our message to the Israeli government is not just that this is wrong, it is that it is counterproductive. We have warned that the actions like this only damage the image of the Israeli government in eyes of honourable members across the House.' The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map) said they had organised the delegation that included the two MPs. The organisations said they had been organising such trips for 'over a decade' and the group had 'informed the UK consul general in Jerusalem of their visit'. Ms Mohamed, MP for Sheffield Central, said it had been 'a challenging few days', adding: 'We were denied entry based on our legitimate political opinions, which are firmly aligned with international law. 'We are not the only ones speaking about the atrocities. We are not the only ones calling for change. We are not the only ones saying that the current actions of the Israeli government must change. Indeed, many Israeli people and charities themselves in Israel are also calling for change. 'There is no direct route into the West Bank. We have to go through Israel. This act was not just a diplomatic affront. This wasn't about security. It was about control and censorship.' She added: 'No state, however powerful, should be beyond criticism. I desperately want to see a two-state solution, and I hope the minister will be able to work with his counterparts in Israel to prevent this happening again, so that we can continue to act in good faith to shed light on what is happening.' Mr Falconer replied: 'On the position of the Israeli government, they do have the right to decide who enters Israel, as indeed do we. 'On this occasion, the two Members of Parliament were given clearance to enter and so it was known to the Israeli government before they arrived at the airport that they would be travelling. So it was with some surprise that I received the call on Saturday evening.' Ms Yang said she joined the delegation on behalf of her constituents who had shared their 'longing for peace' in Gaza and the West Bank. The Earley and Woodley MP added: 'Before going to the West Bank, I understood the risks of travelling to a region where violence is all too common. I did not, however, anticipate the risks of detention and deportation from a British ally.' She continued: 'So far in this Parliament, the conflict in Gaza has been referenced over a thousand times by British MPs, and I have made five of those references in this chamber. If my experience has proved anything, it is that what we say in this chamber matters, and I will encourage other MPs to continue speaking on this issue. 'People around the world are listening to us, our voice is powerful, and we must continue to use it without fear or favour.' Shadow Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton was met with shouts of 'shame' from the Labour benches, as she claimed they were travelling to Israel 'at their own risk'. She added: 'As MPs we do not have diplomatic immunity. So what would the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) do, and this is really important, what would the FCDO do if MPs are allowed entry and then arrested?' Mr Falconer replied: 'I had hoped that (Ms Morton) might come to the despatch box in order to withdraw the comments of the leader of the Opposition.'
