UK shows ‘rank cowardice’ on Palestine and illegal Israeli settlements, says ex-minister

A former UK Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, has expressed regret over Britain’s failure to impose sanctions earlier on Israel for its illegal settlement expansion. Burt told the Defence Committee yesterday that the UK should have “taken action against settlements much earlier.”

Speaking at the committee’s first session on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Burt said the lack of consequences for settlement growth “has done a lot of damage” and “fuelled a sense of impunity among certain politicians in Israel.” He revealed that Britain’s reluctance to impose sanctions was due to “immense pressure” from Israel, which claimed that any sanctions would be motivated by anti-Semitism. “We didn’t move on sanctions because of immense pressure… all sanctions were [claimed to be] an expression of anti-Semitism and that was what was the case being put by the state of Israel,” he told the committee.

The former Conservative Party minister acknowledged that this position has now been proven false, particularly in light of recent internal Israeli criticism. “You can’t have the criticism we’ve seen of Israel over the past year, particularly from those in Tel Aviv protesting about the prime minister, to be told that all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic; plainly it’s not.”

Addressing the current situation, Burt warned that Israel has shifted position fundamentally, with the government now asserting its sovereignty “from the river to the sea.” He noted that while radical Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir advocate openly for annexation, their views “have some popular support” among Israelis. More significantly, he acknowledged that “the public policy of Israel now is to assert its sovereignty from the river to the sea” and that even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution, “if it was ever there, is certainly not there now.”

On UK recognition of Palestine, Burt warned that time is running out for a viable Palestinian state, questioning Britain’s hesitancy to act despite claiming to support a two-state solution. “We are close to approaching the point at which recognising anything is to recognise a state that can’t exist because Israel has fully annexed it, at which point it has no value whatsoever,” he told the committee.

The former minister described UK inaction as “rank cowardice,” particularly given Britain’s position as a P5 member of the UN Security Council, stating that “probably the last remaining ability to provide any comparable support to the process at this point is for the UK to recognise Palestine.”

Burt also highlighted that some experts argue that formal Israeli annexation is unnecessary as “it’s already happened,” raising urgent questions about what solution the UK is actually supporting if it continues to delay action.

The former minister emphasised that Israel takes notice of criticism from allies. “Israel has a very long list of countries it just doesn’t listen to because it believes they’re all against them for anti-Semitic reasons… but if the United Kingdom, a friend, was to say something in company with other friends, it’s going to listen very carefully.”

READ: Israel bombs Kamal Adwan Hospital again, wounding 3 staff