LONDON — A former prime minister of Israel believes Britain’s suspension of some of its arms exports is a “mistake” which won’t affect the country’s military campaign in Gaza and may prove a wasted opportunity for Keir Starmer in his ability to influence events in the Middle East.
Ehud Olmert told POLITICO’s Power Play podcast that Britain and other allies of Israel should instead “be focusing on the total absence of any political horizon or end game strategy that is proposed by the Israeli government.”
Earlier this week, the United Kingdom’s government suspended 30 out of 350 arms and replacement part licenses, including parts for fighter planes, helicopters and drones, on the grounds that they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.
Olmert does not expect the U.S. to follow suit in suspending its arms, which make up most of Israel’s imports, but suggested Washington may have given its tacit consent. No.10 Downing Street confirmed this week that it had informed the U.S. in advance of the move and talked up “extensive engagement” with allies on the issue.
Olmert said: “My assessment is that State Department officials or White House national security advisers would have said to the British ambassador in Washington, ‘Hey, we understand what you did, you know, we are sick and tired of this son of [a] gun and it’s time that we’ll show him something. America will not do anything of this nature.’”
Speaking to Power Play, Olmert, who governed Israel from 2006 to 2009, said that while he did not regard Starmer or his government as hostile, the decision would not have “any significant impact on the state of Israel and therefore it will be lost.”
Ehud Olmert does not expect the U.S. to follow suit in suspending its arms, which make up most of Israel’s imports. | Pool photo by Gali Tibbon via Getty Images
Netanyahu ‘arrogance’
Olmert is a strong critic of the present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he believes has miscalculated in waging all-out war in Gaza to defeat Hamas.
He told Power Play host Anne McElvoy: “I would have appreciated much more a concerted effort, together with the United States government and with other friendly governments, on the state of Israel that would have put Bibi [Netanyahu] where he belongs in the right place in terms of his arrogance and the way he handles himself toward the great friends of Israel.”
Olmert’s period in office coincided with the final years of the last Labour government in the U.K. He says Netanyahu’s government should be aware of the pressures of public opinion placed on friendly governments like Britain’s. “We hear all the noises coming from the streets in London and in other cities, from the campuses, the universities across England and also from the political base of the [Labour] party. I know, I remember at the time that I dealt with Tony Blair and with Gordon Brown.”
The former Israeli prime minister also insisted that the outcome of the U.S. presidential election will not make a difference to the conflict in Gaza. “The deal of the century which Donald Trump proposed in 2020 was based on a two state solution … and if Trump sticks to his position, it will be all over for Bibi because then he can’t rely on the Democrats to make some changes.”
You can listen to the episode here:
