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UK Threat to Withhold Israel Arms Sales Is a Show of Western Weakness

(Ynet News) Col. Richard Kemp - British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has claimed that Israel is deliberately and unnecessarily holding up humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza. This is patent nonsense. I recently visited the Kerem Shalom Crossing and witnessed a highly efficient operation in which staff were working round the clock to get aid into Gaza. Multiple reports, first-hand accounts and video evidence show that the blockage is not on the Israeli side but lies with an inadequate UN distribution system as well as extensive hijacking by Hamas strongmen who divert much of the aid for their own use and sell the rest of it off at inflated prices. Now Cameron seems to be on the verge of making a grand gesture by cutting off British weapons supplies to Israel in the midst of war, threatening betrayal of one of Britain's most important allies. Britain supplies Israel less than 0.9% of its total arms imports. Most are technical components, a large proportion for non-military dual use or items exported onwards to third countries. The effect on Israel would be negligible. Yet a reciprocal move against Britain would be operationally more significant. Arms imports from Israel represent 2.7% of the UK total, including some extremely important systems, notably UAVs, anti-tank missiles and armored vehicle defenses. It's also worth noting that arms sales from Israel increased substantially from 2006, a time of great military need for the UK, at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The greater danger is that even Israel's closest allies would be seen to turn on it. This would strengthen Hamas, whose entire strategy is based on Israel being ultimately constrained by the international community. This is a time when the civilized world should be putting its energies into demoralizing Hamas, not giving them hope that Israel will be pressured into halting at the final stages of its offensive against them. Moreover, for the British government to embargo Israel, or even threaten it, will be used by anti-Israel activists as absolute confirmation that their lies are true, and deployed to incite even greater Jew hate on our streets. At a time of increasing danger from the despotic axis of China, Russia and Iran, we are seen to be afraid to stand by our allies when the going gets tough. What kind of message does that send to both our friends and our enemies? The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2024-03-25 00:00:00
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