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So much for Keir Starmer’s ultimatum.
Barely weeks after threatening to recognise Palestinian statehood, Sir Keir Starmer now watches – almost silent, certainly inert, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalates his campaign against Gaza—not just in rhetoric, but in outright military conquest.
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to seize Gaza City.
Not the whole Strip—for now—but its economic and symbolic heart.
This isn’t just a battlefield.
It is the epicentre of Palestinian civic life in Gaza.
Destroying it isn’t “security” – it is annihilation.
What is happening?
Netanyahu’s five-point plan is explicit: disarm Hamas, demilitarise Gaza, return Israeli hostages, take full security control of the territory, and replace all governance structures with a non-Hamas, non-PA regime.
Translation: permanent occupation and total political erasure.
This is not counter-terrorism.
It is a textbook case of collective punishment.
2.1 million Palestinians—80 per cent of them displaced, many starving—are trapped in a strip where Israel now controls three-quarters of the land.
Now it wants the rest.
Why Gaza City matters
Gaza City is more than symbolic. It is a communications, logistics, and civil infrastructure hub. Control over it would allow Israel to:
- consolidate logistical routes through central Gaza,
- cripple any remaining functional administration,
- and make any future Palestinian governance near-impossible.
Control here means political elimination.
This aligns with far-right factions in Netanyahu’s coalition who have long advocated for “voluntary transfer” of Gazans—code for ethnic cleansing.
“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict,”
said Starmer. But where is the action to back it?
Labour’s criticism has been toothless.
Worse, it looks complicit.
The UK government continues to export arms to Israel, continues to host its envoys, and continues to provide political cover in international forums.
War as investment
Israel’s war machine is subsidised by $3.8 billion annually from the US in military aid.
UK arms sales to Israel from 2015 to 2023 exceeded £400 million.
BAE Systems, Elbit Systems UK, Thales, and other defence contractors are profiting directly from this assault.
The cost to Palestinians has been more than $15 billion in infrastructure damage according to the UN, with GDP contraction of more than 25 per cent.
Gaza’s economy is now entirely dependent on humanitarian aid—aid Israel routinely blocks or bombs.
The neoliberal logic of dispossession
This isn’t just about war.
It’s about what Naomi Klein calls “disaster capitalism”: using conflict to remake geographies.
Strip people of their land, identity, and economy, then sell the reconstruction to international investors.
In this framing, Gaza’s destruction isn’t a failure of Israeli policy.
It is the policy.
It’s profitable.
And it’s supported by market logic that sees state violence as an “investment in stability.”
Historical parallels from Algeria to Sri Lanka
- In Algeria, the French used torture and collective punishment to retain colonial control.
- In Sri Lanka, the Tamil population was effectively ghettoised and criminalised in the name of counter-insurgency.
- In South Africa, apartheid settlers displaced and murdered native populations under a legal system they wrote.
Gaza is a contemporary echo of every one of these atrocities.
UK foreign policy: decades of failure
The UK helped create the conditions for this.
From the Balfour Declaration to the blank-cheque support of recent years, UK policy has prioritised strategic alignment over human rights.
Even the latest promise to recognise Palestinian statehood is conditional, contingent, and ultimately meaningless unless backed by action.
What would resolution require?
- Immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces.
- An arms embargo enforced by the UK and EU.
- International recognition of Palestine with full UN membership.
- Sanctions on Netanyahu’s government, including travel bans and asset freezes.
- UN protection force to oversee rebuilding and demilitarisation.
Why not nationalise arms manufacturing? If British-made weapons are killing children, then it is possible to argue that those factories should be brought under public control.
Their output must be subject to democratic oversight, not shareholder profit.
Counter-arguments: what would critics say?
We already know the counter-arguments because we’ve heard them all before:
- “Israel has a right to self-defence.” Yes. But not to annihilate an entire population.
- “Hamas uses human shields.” That doesn’t justify indiscriminate bombing.
- “You’re anti-Semitic.” Criticism of a government is not hatred of a people. In fact, many Israeli citizens, including hostage families, oppose this offensive.
- “A ceasefire rewards Hamas.” No. It saves lives. And peace must include justice, not just silence.
Geopolitics: dividing the West
- The UK is wobbling, promising recognition of Palestine while still arming Israel.
- The US – most particularly Vice-President JD Vance – is doubling down on “waging war on Hamas” while privately urging restraint.
- France and Spain have called for stronger EU measures, while Germany remains diplomatically paralysed by its historical guilt.
What side of history are we on?
This is not complicated.
The starvation of children, bombing of hospitals, and total destruction of a civilian population is not self-defence.
It is genocide.
If Keir Starmer and his colleagues will not stop the exports, will not impose sanctions, and will not say the word genocide—then they are complicit.
There is no neutral ground here.
History will remember who enabled this, who profited from it, and who had the chance to act but didn’t.
Stand up. Speak out. Demand more.
Share this post:
Netanyahu’s Gaza City offensive exposes genocidal intent: don’t look away
Share this post:
So much for Keir Starmer’s ultimatum.
Barely weeks after threatening to recognise Palestinian statehood, Sir Keir Starmer now watches – almost silent, certainly inert, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalates his campaign against Gaza—not just in rhetoric, but in outright military conquest.
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to seize Gaza City.
Not the whole Strip—for now—but its economic and symbolic heart.
This isn’t just a battlefield.
It is the epicentre of Palestinian civic life in Gaza.
Destroying it isn’t “security” – it is annihilation.
What is happening?
Netanyahu’s five-point plan is explicit: disarm Hamas, demilitarise Gaza, return Israeli hostages, take full security control of the territory, and replace all governance structures with a non-Hamas, non-PA regime.
Translation: permanent occupation and total political erasure.
This is not counter-terrorism.
It is a textbook case of collective punishment.
2.1 million Palestinians—80 per cent of them displaced, many starving—are trapped in a strip where Israel now controls three-quarters of the land.
Now it wants the rest.
Why Gaza City matters
Gaza City is more than symbolic. It is a communications, logistics, and civil infrastructure hub. Control over it would allow Israel to:
Control here means political elimination.
This aligns with far-right factions in Netanyahu’s coalition who have long advocated for “voluntary transfer” of Gazans—code for ethnic cleansing.
said Starmer. But where is the action to back it?
Labour’s criticism has been toothless.
Worse, it looks complicit.
The UK government continues to export arms to Israel, continues to host its envoys, and continues to provide political cover in international forums.
War as investment
Israel’s war machine is subsidised by $3.8 billion annually from the US in military aid.
UK arms sales to Israel from 2015 to 2023 exceeded £400 million.
BAE Systems, Elbit Systems UK, Thales, and other defence contractors are profiting directly from this assault.
The cost to Palestinians has been more than $15 billion in infrastructure damage according to the UN, with GDP contraction of more than 25 per cent.
Gaza’s economy is now entirely dependent on humanitarian aid—aid Israel routinely blocks or bombs.
The neoliberal logic of dispossession
This isn’t just about war.
It’s about what Naomi Klein calls “disaster capitalism”: using conflict to remake geographies.
Strip people of their land, identity, and economy, then sell the reconstruction to international investors.
In this framing, Gaza’s destruction isn’t a failure of Israeli policy.
It is the policy.
It’s profitable.
And it’s supported by market logic that sees state violence as an “investment in stability.”
Historical parallels from Algeria to Sri Lanka
Gaza is a contemporary echo of every one of these atrocities.
UK foreign policy: decades of failure
The UK helped create the conditions for this.
From the Balfour Declaration to the blank-cheque support of recent years, UK policy has prioritised strategic alignment over human rights.
Even the latest promise to recognise Palestinian statehood is conditional, contingent, and ultimately meaningless unless backed by action.
What would resolution require?
Why not nationalise arms manufacturing? If British-made weapons are killing children, then it is possible to argue that those factories should be brought under public control.
Their output must be subject to democratic oversight, not shareholder profit.
Counter-arguments: what would critics say?
We already know the counter-arguments because we’ve heard them all before:
Geopolitics: dividing the West
What side of history are we on?
This is not complicated.
The starvation of children, bombing of hospitals, and total destruction of a civilian population is not self-defence.
It is genocide.
If Keir Starmer and his colleagues will not stop the exports, will not impose sanctions, and will not say the word genocide—then they are complicit.
There is no neutral ground here.
History will remember who enabled this, who profited from it, and who had the chance to act but didn’t.
Stand up. Speak out. Demand more.
Share this post:
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