After launching a new, intensified assault on Gaza, Israel is suddenly facing a string of denunciations from its closest allies in the West, including new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney.
Some are hailing this as a victory for Palestine, or a sudden humanitarian awakening from the leaders of the West. But what is really behind this change?
A shift in relations
After almost two years of blindly supporting Israel, the Western powers have now changed their tone in the face of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, Israel’s plan to occupy the Gaza Strip and permanently displace its population.
This can be seen in the mainstream press with headlines like “The war in Gaza must end” and “The west’s shameful silence on Gaza” having become commonplace. This is coming from mainstays of the western imperialist press like The Economist and the Financial Times.
This shift can also be seen in the political establishment. On May 19 Mark Carney, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, released a joint statement condemning Israel’s operations in Gaza, its blocking of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. A day later, the European Union announced it would launch an investigation into its trade agreement with Israel. Britain also cut off trade talks with Israel and imposed sanctions on a handful of West Bank settlers and companies.
The Israeli regime has not taken these criticisms sitting down. Netanyahu accused Carney, Starmer and Macron of supporting Hamas. A more dramatic incident took place when IDF soldiers fired shots near a diplomatic delegation touring Jenin in the West Bank, which included two Canadians. All of this seemed to cement a new, chillier tone in the relationship between the West and Israel.
Trump vs. Netanyahu
Spearheading this change in attitude is Donald Trump, who has shown far less patience for Netanyahu’s antics than Joe Biden did. Trump is not a peace-loving man, but he recognizes the new limits of U.S. imperialism. He is determined to avoid being dragged into another Afghanistan or Iraq. He wants to strongarm his way to a peace deal in Gaza and extract America from the region entirely, putting an end to America’s “forever wars”.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, is pursuing a policy designed to keep himself politically alive and out of jail. This has run counter to the interests of U.S. imperialism in the region. He broke the ceasefire engineered by Trump to please the extreme right-wing fanatics propping up his government. He has tried to provoke a regional war by drawing Iran into direct military conflict.
Netanyahu has therefore proven to Trump that he is willing to sacrifice the interests of American imperialism for his narrow personal aims.
Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East sent a clear message. He negotiated a peace deal with the Houthis and the release of the last American hostage from Hamas, all without the involvement of Israel. The peace deal with the Houthis also imposed no restrictions on attacking Israel.
Trump has also negotiated significant trade deals with many Gulf states and lifted sanctions on Syria, which Israel has been bombing. Probably most symbolic of the rift between Trump and Netanyahu is the fact that he will be negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran—the sworn enemy of Israel.
The West’s historically unwavering support for Israel has been based on it being a reliable ally in the region. But Netanyahu’s recklessness is endangering that status. Trump’s Middle East tour—which conspicuously avoided Israel—showed that he was willing to seek out new points of support in the region, which gave the lesser Western leaders the green light to take a stronger tone with Israel as well.
The hypocrisy of Western imperialism
But this is just political opportunism. With at least 45 per cent of the Canadian population believing Israel is committing genocide, it is in the direct interests of politicians to whitewash their role.
Behind all the bluster, no real action has been taken against Israel. Ironically, the joint statement’s threat of “concrete actions” is entirely abstract. Britain has called off trade talks, but their previous deals with Israel remain in place, and their tiny sanctions will have no meaningful impact. The E.U. would need unanimous agreement from all 27 member countries to cancel their trade deal, which will not happen.
For all their newfound indignation, the Western imperialist countries remains the primary supplier of the genocide. While British foreign secretary David Lammy was condemning Israel’s assault as “morally unjustifiable”, British surveillance planes continued to fly over Gaza, providing intelligence to the IDF. If they were really driven by humanitarian concerns, these leaders could immediately take tangible action to stop the flow of arms, equipment and money to Israel.
Carney has done nothing except exchange some sharp words with Netanyahu. The pre-existing military contracts will stay in place, there have been no sanctions placed on Israel and the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement will stay in place. Compare this treatment to the measures taken against Russia and we can clearly see the western imperialist hypocrisy on display.
No faith in the imperialists!
Even if western imperialist powers do take more concrete actions against Israel, it is not out of any concern for human rights or a desire for peace. Western imperialist politicians have no interest in actually helping Palestinians.
Imperialism at the end of the day is about economics. All of the talk about “human rights,” “sovereignty” or “peace” is just window dressing used to disguise the imperialists’ true interests: markets, investments, profits and spheres of influence.
As the world order created after World War II decays, imperialist conflict and war is becoming more commonplace. Under imperialism, there is no real peace, there is no real escape from the horrors we see increasingly around the world. The peoples of the world are but small change in the big power struggles of the imperialists.
No amount of pressure on the institutions of the ruling class can fundamentally change this situation. Only a revolution can challenge the power of imperialism. Only a revolution can end this barbaric situation and usher in a new society, free from predatory imperialism which bleeds people dry in the interest of profit.
