After two years of Israel’s systematic campaign of erasure in Gaza, those who played an indispensable role in the carnage appear to think that a tenuous ceasefire – during which Israel has killed more than 230 Palestinians and violated the agreement over 100 times – will wipe our minds of their complicity.  

The consequences of the last 25 months have been catastrophic. At least 80% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed and 61 million tonnes of rubble created. Entire generations have been wiped out and more than 6,000 families have been left with just one surviving family member. Gaza has the highest rate of child amputees in the world. Some 55,000 children under the age of five have acute malnutrition. And the death toll is estimated to be considerably higher than the 70,000 figure widely reported.

Yet there appears to be a belief that memories are short, that archives, forensically and diligently compiled, will be ignored, and that recency bias will reign supreme. Nowhere is this more prevalent than within the British government, led by the Labour party’s Keir Starmer. Having supported and shielded Israel as it ruthlessly reduced Gaza to rubble, the government now has the audacity to present itself as a power striving to restore calm and prosperity in the region.

On the same day that Keir Starmer flew into Sharm El-Sheikh for the so-called Gaza Peace Summit, Britain convened a multinational conference in its Wilton Park “think-space” on financing Gaza’s reconstruction. Co-hosted by the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, the conference sought to construct “a framework for mobilising private sector investment” by bringing together representatives from Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan with private sector and international development financiers.

The shamelessness of Britain’s self-serving “leadership” was on full display from the very beginning. In his opening remarks, Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer served dutifully as an enthusiastic vessel for the logic of capital, explaining that “Gaza, and Palestine more broadly, has real economic potential. Human capital, resilience, a critical location and a global diaspora, including here in the UK. That potential must be unlocked.”  Indeed, the UK, he claimed, “is well placed to help” unlock that potential, because “we bring deep expertise in private investment and strong links to the City of London.” Let the next phase of profiteering begin.

Falconer’s simultaneous commitment to “backing a Palestinian-led recovery” and laying the groundwork for “long-term economic development” means nothing coming from a party that overwhelmingly supported Israel’s remorseless assault while in opposition and then robustly doubled down in office. One notable Arabic proverb comes to mind: “He kills the victim, then marches in his funeral”.

This is particularly apt given Labour’s disgraceful actions just weeks prior to the ceasefire announcement. In September, the government co-organised the UKs “flagship” arms fair, the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), where national delegations and private companies showcased their latest military hardware and weapons.

While the government announced that it had banned the Israeli government delegation from attending in protest of its decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza, 51 Israeli arms companies were still permitted to exhibit their weapons – including Elbit Systems, the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries. Together these three companies supply billions of dollars-worth of military equipment and services annually to the Israeli military. A report released by Amnesty International in September 2025 named the companies as among those directly linked to Israel’s crimes in Gaza – crimes of unceasing cruelty that were not concealed, but were committed in plain sight and broadcast to the world.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade condemned the fair, calling it “peak genocide complicity” on the British government’s behalf. Above all, they highlighted the “outrageous lie” that the government holding Israel to account – while allowing it to market its “genocide-tested weapons” and profit from the mass slaughter of Palestinians.

This performative retribution, much like its current performative peace-making, is a favoured tactic of this government. Unfortunately, there is a difference between appearing to be ethical and being ethical. It’s even more unfortunate, for them, that their fake outrage and lies fool nobody.   

Remember September 2024, when the government suspended 30 out of 350 arms licenses, claiming they had halted the delivery of any items that could be used by the Israeli military against the Palestinians?

Recent findings suggest that not only did UK arms exports to Israel continue, including to the air force, but actually reached record highs in June 2025. Likewise, in the three months just before the partial suspension, Labour exported more arms to Israel than the Conservative party had in their preceding four-year term. What might have looked like a substantial policy shift in tune with the demands of the electorate, at a time when the British public overwhelmingly backed a suspension of arms sales, was in fact a cynical act of symbolism designed to give Britain yet more cover as it provided support for wholesale slaughter in Gaza.

As Tony Blair competes for the dubious distinction of being Labour’s most harmful figure towards the Palestinians, the current leadership appear unwilling to be outdone. 

When there isn’t belated and duplicitous outrage, there is organised protection. When Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar came to the UK on a secret visit in April, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and the Hind Rajab Foundation filed an application for an arrest warrant on the basis he had aided and abetted grave breaches of international law. Reports emerged that the visit was to be cut short to avoid arrest before David Lammy assured the minister that no such warrant would be approved. 

Special consideration for Israeli ministers has been the norm, not the exception. Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president who infamously signed missiles that rained down on Gaza, was welcomed into 10 Downing Street the same week as the DSEI arms fair in September. Yair Golan, purportedly a left-wing, progressive politician in Israel, was welcomed into Britain after he advocated for the starvation of Gaza in October 2023, calling it “totally legitimate”. Instead of condemnation or consequences, this earned him a photo opportunity and a handshake with Falconer himself as recently as July 2025 – just as Labour was perfecting its image of indignation at Palestinians being gunned down at aid sites in Gaza.

Not only is the government’s posture deeply craven, but it loyally provides Israel political immunity when it is in short supply globally. Israeli soldiers continue to face the risk of being arrested abroad for suspected war crimes committed in Gaza, to the extent that guides are being published in Israel to help circumvent it. Whilst the world demands accountability, the UK is offering a safe haven for those complicit. 

Even now, as Falconer issues a call to “turn this moment of hope into lasting peace and progress”, the government continues its attack on civil liberties at home. Of course, Labour has proven time and again that it has no qualms about making arrests or using force – so long as it’s against those spray-painting Israeli arms factories, or those holding up signs opposing the proscription of the group behind such actions. Eighty-year-old priests, blind and disabled wheelchair users: these are the people whom the government has decided to hold accountable. As a protester twice arrested for supporting Palestine Action recently told me, “political power is utterly captured, compromised and incapable of change. I feel as if we are living in an alternative reality”. 

By fashioning itself as a broker of peace and a force for future prosperity in Gaza, the government is working hard to convince the public that its complicity was just an illusion. The British people know better, and history will not be kind.▼