Israel Gaza war: As conflict escalates, hawks appear to relish war with Iran, Russia and even China – Kenny MacAskill

We should weep for the people of Gaza and fear for humanity as the world heads towards an escalating spiral of conflict

Watching the International Court of Justice judgment on Gaza, I was filled with hope. It may have been more important in publicity terms than in the immediate outcome. But it was a start. Genocide may not have been proven but a stateable case was made.

Surely US President Joe Biden would call off Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dogs of war and Britain would cease being supine? Instead, the situation in Gaza has worsened, with the suspension of UNWRA funding harming the already disastrous humanitarian crisis. More worryingly, the war’s widening with the bombing of Yemen and beyond.

Cheers for the verdict have turned to tears as social media footage from Gaza discloses the increasing horror. A post from the Palestinian Office in the UK brought it home. It played an emergency call to the Palestinian Red Cross from a 15-year-old girl trapped in a car with a younger child, urgently seeking help. The sound of gunfire soon drowned out the child’s terrified voice and the line went dead. There was a mixture of shame at intruding on death, horror at what I’d been watching, and rage that it’s being done, especially given the ICJ decision.

Yemen, Iraq and Syria bombed

Despite being put on notice by the court, Israel has ramped things up. The Wall Street Journal, hardly pro-Palestinian, reported that 70 per cent of Gaza homes have been damaged or destroyed and it’s continuing. This is ethnic cleansing.

It makes the suspension of UNWRA funding disgraceful. That a handful of low-grade staff, recruited locally, had links to Hamas is only to be expected. Even the best HR procedures will struggle to root out every sympathiser. When Afghan or Iraqi blue-on-blue attacks against US and UK forces occurred, did the coalition stop funding local organisations? No, they blamed the individuals involved.

Even more concerning is the widening of the war. We’re now onto the third strike on Yemen, with the USA liberally bombing sites in Iraq and Syria. We’re told it’s nothing to do with Gaza despite the Houthis stating that it’s the raison d’etre. Even the Yemen government, no friends of the Houthis, confirms that. All MPs received a letter from the Yemeni Embassy saying just that and condemning the Israelis’ actions which have set the area aflame.

Dangerous times

Yet the British political establishment continues with the fiction that it’s about protecting UK maritime interests. Only one UK vessel had been attacked when strikes began, although another has now been. Of course, there are others that are flagged elsewhere such as in Liberia or Panama. But why are UK forces defending the financial investments of corporates, who neither use UK crew nor register here?

There have been calls in the USA for strikes on Iran. That’s what Netanyahu would like. But the Red Sea debate in Westminster saw voices opposing a lurch to war drowned out by those seeking an escalation of the crisis.

Be under no illusion, some want war with Iran, leading to action against Russia and, who knows, why not China as well? They blame Iran, linking it with their arming of Russia, and the defence of Ukraine. It’s not just an escalation but a widening of the conflict that’s looming.

These are dangerous times. We weep for Gaza but should fear for humanity.

Kenny MacAskill is Alba MP for East Lothian