Two wrongs don’t make a right. So it is rarely wise to support violent acts coming out of one corrupt and oppressive regime just because you have been shocked rigid by the violent actions of a different corrupt and oppressive government that happens to be opposed to it.
At the moment propagandists are working overtime to justify their own appalling actions by arguing that the other side is guilty of mass murder so it is fine for them to conduct their own killing spree.
Blindness on all sides
Some on the left have been tempted to try and justify what happened on 7 October as a necessary and justifiable act of defence by a beleaguered people who have suffered decades of oppression. The oppression was real enough – it is only necessary to look up the basic facts on ‘settler’ land grabs and the death toll amongst those who objected to having their land stolen to understand that everything wasn’t fine and fair before October 2023.
The indiscriminate terror of the Hamas attacks and the consequences for innocent human life were also very real. Many of those exposed to the Hamas violence had been attending a rock concert and had been demonstrating against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government only days earlier. Did they really deserve to die? Is anyone really so very certain of the justness of every aspect of a cause that they are prepared to turn a blind eye to mass murder and hostage taking?
Many others have chosen to speak as if the October murders were the first horrible event that had ever taken place in this part of the Middle East, and proceeded to justify the destruction of homes and lives in Gaza as reasonable retaliation. That is an exceptionally cynical and misguided argument that is directly contradictory to international law.
Perpetuating bloody retribution
There is no justification for carpet shelling a civilian area and for destroying hospitals. It is not OK to kill tens of thousands of people on the grounds that you were trying to kill terrorists and they got in the way. Any army that occupies territory is supposed to try and feed the population that it is now in control of. Not to deny it access to food and force hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes and onto the beaches.
Retaliation rarely makes a situation better. Particularly when it is disproportionate. All it does is perpetuate a cycle of revenge from which no one benefits other than corrupt politicians and religious leaders who get to stay in power for a bit longer. Hamas claims that its murders were retaliation for years of mistreatment at the hands of the Israeli government. I doubt the hostages and their families agree with any of these attempts at justification. Or that those Palestinians who have lost their homes and the lives of those they love feel safer today than they did in early October.
Netanyahu claims that his retaliation was necessary, measured and carefully targeted. A brief glance at some of the nightly footage of destroyed homes exposes the lie. Homes and people have been targeted with such enthusiasm that three Israeli hostages were shot by Israeli soldiers despite calling out for help in Hebrew. One of the three was finished off as he lay injured on the ground powerless to be any danger to anyone. The aid workers who were killed ran in fear for their lives from one clearly marked vehicle that was targeted by a directed missile to a second vehicle. Only to find that this was also shelled before the occupants of the third aid vehicle was destroyed.
If that is how marked and notified international aid convoys got treated then imagine how much risk an ordinary Palestinian takes if they try and move away from a place of extreme danger to somewhere slightly safer.
An eye for an eye for an eye …
The Iranian extremist religious leaders who ordered the first round of attacks on shipping and provided the weapons to enable shells to be fired into Israel by its proxy groups claimed it was an act of retaliation for the Gaza attacks. The extreme religious leaders who are part of the Israeli government then proceeded to push for the murder of Iranian generals inside the Syrian embassy as retaliation for the retaliation to the retaliation to the retaliation. Now the corrupt and oppressive Iranian government has ordered fresh escalatory retaliation.
Is cheering on the sale of arms for a fresh round of retaliation from Israel really a wise response from the British government? Is this really a battle that we want to take sides on? Was it really sensible for the British prime minister to travel to Israel and tell Netanyahu after 7 October that he wanted him to win without knowing what he wanted won?
There is only one way out of the cycle of violence. That is for a ceasefire that involves return of hostages in increasing numbers as it lasts. It is for serious negotiations that address the long-term rights of the people of all sides in this conflict with equal respect. The people of Israel have the right to live in peace and freedom, secure in their lives and property. So do the people of Palestine. Until everyone accepts both sides of that equation with equal enthusiasm and starts to build a long-term solution on those principles, the conflicts will continue and could easily get worse.
Breaking the cycle
If Britain really wants to build a successful future for all the people involved in this conflict then it needs to begin by ceasing to authorise the supply of arms to one side in it. Nothing is going to get better while one side or the other pursues outright victory. That can only be achieved by wiping out an entire population and killing millions of innocents. The retaliation for that would be equally horrific.
When the war mongers start to lose their heads and start talking about destroying their opponents before they get stronger, it is time for the rest of us to keep ours. Israel will never be safe until the Palestinians are also safe. Palestinians will never be safe until there is a safe space for the people of Israel. Those risks may not remain bottled up in that region. Terror attacks on UK soil have become increasingly likely. No one will be safe until we stop supporting the killing of one side and start forcing leaders to get around the negotiating table and create a secure future for all.
