Michael McDowell points to a very dangerous dynamic in Britain at the moment.
Looking at what is happening in Britain in the context of the ongoing destruction of innocent civilians in Israel and Gaza, I am left wondering how far Rishi Sunak's administration will go in denying the obvious truth that what is now being done to the Palestinians in Gaza is as wrong and as barbaric as what Hamas did to innocent Jews and others in southern Israel on October 7th.
Right-wing Tory print media in Britain have been demanding that pro-Palestinian street demonstrations should incur bans, arrests, and prosecutions of those who call for Intifada. The fact that demonstrators in their tens of thousands have taken to the streets to call for a halt to the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza seems to have little or no effect on the Tory leadership or their media cheerleaders.
And all this against protesters who overwhelmingly are not supporting Hamas and its crimes but seek the protection of those who, as McDowell notes, are civilians and innocent. Of course this doesn't come out of the ether. The Tories have long sought to constrict and constrain protest. But even then what is happening is sort of remarkable.
How else to describe the following?
James Cleverly, the UK's foreign secretary, has advised supporters of Palestine to stay at home, saying: "There is no need, no necessity for people to come out. It causes distress. This is a difficult, delicate situation."
That's literally insanity in a self-avowed democratic society. But isn't it remarkable how the supposed tribunes of free speech such as the Tories, retreat en masse from that position when it suits them. And as noticed on the IT podcast during the week cancelling of differing voices is continuing apace in this particular instance.
He also raises a range of questions:
How can a military operation in Gaza succeed? Now that northern Gaza is cut off, will it be pulverised in the search for Hamas in their bunkers and tunnels? Will Hamas still exist in the south of the Gaza Strip? Will southern Gaza also have to be razed? Will all those who survive be rounded up to search for Hamas members among them? Will torture techniques be used to identify and locate the entire Hamas movement? Or will finding and killing the Hamas leadership suffice? Will there be internment of Hamas detainees or mass graves?
How long will all this take? What will happen to the survivors among the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza? Who will be in charge? Who will be allowed to rebuild? When will the Israelis leave? What will they leave behind? How many of the hostages will survive the razing of Gaza and the hatred of their captors? What will happen on the West Bank?
How it is that some European governments and others seem oblivious to all these questions and the lack of answers tells us much. As McDowell notes, Biden, Sunak and von der Leyen have 'foolishly signed blank cheques' for Netanyahu. This is a genuinely catastrophic situation - that's not hyperbole. As noted yesterday the necessity for voices to be raised to slow and halt the processes in play is essential.
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