Perfidious Albion – Britain will halt arms sales to Israel if ceasefire breaks down

Not for nothing is Britain called Perfidious Albion.  Britain’s latest betrayal of Israel, above and beyond the vile partisanship of several of its politicians, (and most likely because of this partisanship), has expressed itself in a particularly nasty threat: If fighting resumes between Israel and Hamas, Britain will suspend export licences for arms sales to … Israel!

Britain’s business secretary said Tuesday London would halt some arms exports to Israel if fighting resumed in Gaza

Vince Cable will cancel 12 arms export licenses to Israel, covering components for radar systems, combat aircraft and tanks, according to a statement from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.Cable, of the minority Liberal-Democrat coalition party, said the export licenses would be revoked if fighting renewed after a 72-hour truce currently being used for the sides to negotiate a longterm ceasefire. The truce ends Wednesday at midnight.

“We welcome the current ceasefire in Gaza and hope that it will lead to a peaceful resolution. However, the UK government has not been able to clarify if the export licence criteria are being met,” Cable said in a statement. “In light of that uncertainty, we have taken the decision to suspend these existing export licences in the event of a resumption of significant hostilities.”

Cable also said that the UK would continue to not grant new licenses while the conflict persisted.

A number of politicians and activists in Britain had pushed for a full arms embargo on Israel regardless of whether fighting resumed again or not.

“It is a very weak position and it will be seen as a sign of political support for the Israeli government,” Andrew Smith from Campaign Against Arms Trade told the Huffington Post UK.

A spokesperson from Cable’s Liberal Democrat party told the BBC that faction wanted an embargo on arms to Israel, but had to negotiate with the main governing Conservative party.

The very fact that Israel is even agreeing to ceasefire talks with Hamas is a huge concession from Israel. Hamas deserve nothing less than total annihilation, not talks with “men in suits” in civilized surroundings where they can demand everything and give nothing. In my opinion (and I’m not alone) Israel is wrong to even consider giving anything to Gaza unless Hamas are disbanded and disarmed – but that’s a whole other story.

Meanwhile, let’s unpack Britain’s twisted reasoning against the background of the current war’s timeline:

• Hamas started the current round of hostilities with Israel by kidnapping and killing three teenage schoolboys.
• Israel searched intensively for the boys and in the process arrested many Hamas members in Judea and Samaria.
• Hamas retaliated by firing rockets at southern Israel.
• When the rocket-fire intensified, and only after several days of warnings from Israel, the IDF attacked back with pinpoint bombing attacks from the air.
• Hamas infiltrated Israel in attempts to kidnap and kill Israelis through tunnels it had constructed over the years using cement provided by those oh-so-concerned do-gooder NGO’s and UN agencies.
• The IDF entered Gaza on the ground in order to destroy the tunnel threat.
  Hamas “cried uncle” and asked for a ceasefire – which they then proceeded to break several times.
• At present a 72 hour ceasefire is in its last day and Hamas are refusing to renew it unless its conditions are met.
• If Hamas does not renew the ceasefire, that obviously means they will renew their rocket fire onto Israel.
• If Israel retaliates – as any country under attack is not only allowed but expected to do – Britain says it will withhold arms sales from Israel – the victimised party.

If you can ascribe any motive other than antisemitism to this decision I would love to hear it.

Until then I am planning to boycott as many British products as possible and I am very tempted to burn my British passport. My only reluctance stems from such a move being too similar to an antisemitic ex-Israeli who wants to burn her Israel passport.

I note that Britain is not withholding aid to Gaza – which, if one judges from recent history, will end up in the pockets if not the tunnels of Hamas.

What a wonderful lesson for terrorists worldwide to learn. Attack a democratic state; receive aid; the democratic state receives condemnations and boycotts; it is vilified and denounced around the world; its co-religionists are attacked in demonstrations and pogroms worldwide; and the terrorists receive aid and succour from the West.

Is it any surprise that ISIS is making such huge headway in Iraq and Syria? They have been watching the West’s actions towards Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban and every other kind of Jihadist terrorists and have drawn the correct conclusions.

Now that the US has finally woken up, too little too late according to the endangered Yazidis who are taking refuge atop Mt. Sinjar (and of whom up to 70% are already dead from thirst, hunger or murder by ISIS) , and is attacking ISIS strongholds in Iraq, will Britain condemn the Americans? Or will Britain send in its own planes and helicopters to assist the Americans?

Make no mistake, I’m all in favour of the West taking on ISIS. The situation in Iraq and Syria is becoming desperate.

But why cannot Britain, and other similarly conflicted Western countries, see that Israel’s fight against is the same as theirs with ISIS?  Both wars are existential: Israel is fighting for her very existence against an annihilationist barbaric enemy, and the West is fighting against an annihilationist barbaric enemy in Iraq who threatens the eventual takeover of the entire West to impost a Sharia Caliphate.

In my opinion the problem – and the answer – is guns. To be precise – Jews with guns. The West has no problem with dead Jews. The love their dead Jews. Look at all the wonderful Holocaust memorials and museums around the world.

Memorial plaque at the Belfast birthplace of Israeli President Chaim Herzog, removed due to repeated antisemitic attacks

(On second thoughts, even dead Jews are a problem – as has been seen by multiple desecrations of Jewish cemeteries, and now, the latest violation, the memorial plaque at the Belfast birthplace of Israel’s late President Chaim Herzog has been removed due to repeated anti-Semitic attacks).

But Jews with guns?! Jews who defend themselves? Does. Not. Compute.