Summary
- Anas Sarwar says the UK Govt lacks influence over
Israel.
- Believes Benjamin Netanyahu won’t listen to Keir Starmer.
- Suggests UK's impact on Israel policy is limited.
- Sarwar highlights the disconnect between UK leaders and
Netanyahu.
- Reflects skepticism on Starmer’s ability to sway Israel.
The Scottish Labour leader was asked if he
thought the UK Prime Minister had "done enough" to halt Israel's
shelling of Gaza during an Unspun event hosted by The Herald at the Edinburgh
Fringe.
Sarwar did not respond when asked if he thought
Starmer had gone far enough, but he did say the Prime Minister had caused “a
lot of upset” after an interview on LBC following the October 7 Hamas attacks
in which he claimed Israel had the “right to defend herself” by denying
Palestinian civilians access to water and electricity.
Sawar stated that he agrees with the International Court of Justice that Israel is committing
genocide in Gaza and that he thinks that cutting off food and water is a
blatant violation of international law. He also added that Netanyahu is
"clearly in breach" of international law.
"Remaining in power and staying out of
jail" is more important to Netanyahu than what is best for his country and
the Middle East, he continued, calling him a "fair actor for
peace."
Sarwar responded that he didn't think the Israeli prime minister would listen to his UK colleague when asked if he thought Starmer was doing enough to stop Netanyahu.
“One is, I think there are probably more people that think they have influence to stop Benjamin Netanyahu, or even the UK has more influence in stopping Benjamin Netanyahu than we do,”
Sarwar said.
“I don’t think he [Netanyahu] will listen to the Prime Minister of the UK.”
When asked if he thinks Starmer has no influence over the Israeli Prime Minister, Sarwar said, he believes the Labour leader has influence over the US president Donald Trump, who ultimately is the only person who could stop Netanyahu.
“I think Trump is ultimately the only one who can exert influence over Benjamin Netanyahu,”
Sarwar said.
When asked if he thought Starmer had enough influence on Trump, Sarwar didn’t answer and said:
“Let's be honest, the globe has utterly failed the people of Palestine.”
“The world has failed.
We often talk about the international community as if somehow there is a group of people out there that can automatically do something or resolve something. The international community, if any such thing exists, has clearly failed and that means we have a population that's been collectively punished.
People are being literally starved to death and also it is looking like the peace process is further away than it has ever been.”
Sarwar continued by stating that Labour must be
doing "much more to hold the Israeli government to account," even
though he thinks the UK government has lately taken the right move by declaring
that it would recognize the state of Palestine.
Additionally, he urged the Labour Government to do more to demonstrate that Israeli forces in Gaza are not using any "hint" of UK-supplied components.
What evidence supports Sarwar's claim that the UK has limited influence over Israel?
The UK continues to provide critical military
support to Israel, including parts for F-35 fighter jets that Israel uses in
its operations in Gaza. This military assistance continues even amid
allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and legal
challenges in UK courts.
This suggests that, despite public pressure and
controversy, the UK government maintains essential support for Israel's
military actions, indicating limited leverage to change Israel's conduct or
policies through diplomatic means.
The UK government's justification hinges on
national security interests and alliances rather than pressuring Israel to
alter its behavior.