Call it war fatigue. So soon. Last week it was standing room only on both sides of the house for Rishi Sunak’s statement on Israel and Gaza. For the update on Monday there were plenty of gaps on the green benches. Especially on the Tory side. Already the Middle East has been filed under something too difficult, too unbearable and too far away. Most Conservatives no longer have the bandwidth for the conflict. They are too busy contemplating their own more immediate eternity. Losing the next general election.
Many of Sunak’s opening remarks were more or less a reprise of what he had said last week. Horror at the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas. A commitment to stand with Israel and a reaffirmation of its right to defend itself and to retrieve its hostages. An acknowledgment that the Palestinians are also victims of Hamas. Their need for humanitarian aid and for Israel to respond within international law. Hard to argue with any of that.
Where the script diverged slightly was in Rishi’s attempts to put himself centre stage. The tetchy school prefect sending himself out to cosplay the global statesman. You could hardly blame him, I suppose. His trip last week to the Middle East had to mean something more than a self-seeking photo opportunity. For his own self-worth at least. So what we got was Rish! as a Zelig character, squeezing himself into different moments of history.
First he was the hostage negotiator. It was largely down to his efforts that two Americans had been released last week. Then there was the Zelig who had sat down with Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and given them great insights into building peace in the Middle East. They would have been lost without him. Finally, he personally was responsible for opening the Rafah crossing. He didn’t want to boast but credit where credit was due. This confused most MPs. They could have sworn that was Joe Biden’s win.
Sunak closed by saying that British intelligence had concluded the Gaza hospital had been destroyed by a militants’ rocket – no one demurred – and that the BBC should be more careful in its reporting. Then a plea for a two-state solution. Good luck with that. That doesn’t seem to be on the shopping list of Netanyahu or Hamas. But you can always dream.
In reply, Keir Starmer chose to ignore Rish!’s fantasies about single-handedly winning the Nobel peace prize but otherwise pretty much mirrored the prime minister’s statement. Close your eyes and the two speeches were pretty much interchangeable. The Labour leader is taking the Commons speaking with one voice on this subject very seriously. He might have been marginally more accommodating to those of his MPs who wanted him to voice more support for the Palestinian people, but not much.
Once again, the SNP’s Stephen Flynn called for the government to advocate a ceasefire. To stop the violence – if only temporarily – and to allow essential humanitarian aid into Gaza. Flynn’s was not a lone voice. Many MPs from both sides of the Commons also appealed for a ceasefire.
But Sunak wouldn’t consider it. Not even as a possibility for the future. Israel had a right to defend itself. Hamas had forfeited whatever rights it may have had with its massacre of Israeli civilians. And as long as Hamas continued to keep hostages and launch rocket attacks on Israel, Israel could send down airstrikes on Gaza. Any Palestinian civilian casualties were the fault of Hamas. For embedding terrorists among an innocent population.
It had a logic. And an absence of logic. Any two-state solution – any solution at all come to think of it – has to start with both sides stopping wanting to kill the other. It’s as basic as that. But neither Hamas nor the Israelis are willing to back down and take that step. Decades of mistrust, hatred and violence prevent it. A ceasefire is the minimum requirement. Not just to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe but for any long-term solution. It’s international diplomacy 101. But a ceasefire is further away than ever. And Sunak and Starmer aren’t even pushing for one. Go figure.
Nor is Israel and Gaza an issue that splits along simple party lines. Everyone agrees that what Hamas has done is barbaric and unforgivable, but MPs on both sides were concerned that the government appeared to be giving the Israelis carte blanche to exact a collective punishment on the Palestinians in Gaza. Tory Vicky Ford wondered who was policing the Israeli response to make sure it was within international law.
Sunak just ummed and ahhed and waved his hands imperiously. The Israelis had assured him that they were following the letter of the law and that was good enough for him. Who was he to doubt them? Those airstrikes that wiped out entire Palestinian families were just one of those things. His assurances that all lives were equal were not entirely convincing.
Certainly many Labour MPs – especially those with large Muslim populations – in their constituencies were far from reassured. Jess Phillips also wanted to know what mechanisms were in place if international law was not observed. Er … none.
Zarah Sultana claimed there was already evidence that war crimes had been committed. Food, fuel, water and medical supplies had all been denied. Rish! again looked somewhat uncomfortable. Everything was for the best in the best of all possible worlds. He was sure the Palestinians were getting more than enough. The press cameras were lying. Things weren’t as bad as all that.
The most curious intervention came from the ever unreliable Theresa Villiers. She was outraged at reports that a Hamas leader had been allowed to buy a council house in the UK at a discount. AT A DISCOUNT! It would have been fine apparently if he had paid full whack. Jeremy Corbyn – a notable absentee last week – was in and calling for a humanitarian pause to the conflict.
Despite the former Labour leader making a point of condemning Hamas, Sunak merely went for the cheap shot of dismissing him as a friend of Hamas. Corbyn may have been wrong about a lot of things but he was right about this. There has to be an end to the killing at some point, otherwise an escalation of the war in the Middle East is inevitable. A ceasefire, however temporary, is a necessary waypoint to a two-state solution. Something has to give. And if Sunak was serious as a peacemaker he would make a stand.
Depraved New World by John Crace (Guardian Faber, £16.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, pre-order your copy and save 18% at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
