LibDems Align UK Government The Clerical Fascism Of Hamas And Want Israel Destroyed
Liberal Democrat Party Leader Nick Clegg (centre), and PPC David Ward meet members of the public during a visit to Printing Roller Services in Bradford, Yorkshire.
THE Liberal Democrats has excerpted influence on the Government. The UK will suspend some of its arms exports to Israel if the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is broken.
The business department said a review of UK exports to Israel had identified the 12 licences for “components which could be part of equipment used by the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza”. They include equipment for military radar, combat aircraft and tanks.
Vince Cable, the business secretary, said: “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. 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.
“No new licences of military equipment have been issued for use by the Israeli Defence Forces during the review period, and as a precautionary measure this approach will continue until hostilities cease.”
The export suspension comes after a long and fierce battle within the coalition over restricting arms sales to Israel. The prime minister, David Cameron, and the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, have been resisting demands from Cable and the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg calling for the immediate suspension of exports.
So. If Hamas continue to fire rockets willy-nilly at Israeli civilians, Israel cannot respond?
What Vince Cable said was:
“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. 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.
“No new licences of military equipment have been issued for use by the Israeli Defence Force during the review period and as a precautionary measure this approach will continue until hostilities cease.”
The Lib Dems then sent out a clarification:
This is a coalition and this is as far as we have been able to reach in collective agreement with the Conservatives.”
Wow.
PS – It’s nothing to do with bigory and doube-standards. Oh, no.
It’s nothing to dow ith a LIbDem MP supporting Hamas and terrorism:
He’s no fan of Israel:
“Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?”
Revolting stuff. By Zionist, he means Jews.
Those Jews who never learn, said Ward:
“Having visited Auschwitz twice – once with my family and once with local schools – I am saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Jews sadden him.
Hugo Rifkind in the Times:
“Something is different now. Antisemitism has always spiked when Israel deploys the Israeli Defence Force, but this time the ire is not confined to Israelis. Instead, far more than before, protesters are using, and twisting, the word “Zionists”. Many, even most, probably don’t mean any harm by it. Perhaps they see it as a narrowing term, a way to specifically not attack all Jews or even all Israelis, but merely those who wish to ethnically cleanse Palestine of Palestinians and put Jews there instead. The trouble is, “Zionism” doesn’t mean that. It’s a broad term and it refers to the simple fact of there being a Jewish homeland at all. Believe in a two-state solution? You’re a Zionist. Strive for a bi-national state? Also a Zionist. The United Nations is Zionist. Technically, even the Palestinian Authority is Zionist; that’s what the damn word means.”
And Ward is in the clear. LibDem Chief Whip Don Foster bleats that he will take no action:
“David has subsequently repeated his apology and placed it and his explanation on his website.
In light of that apology, the assurance by David Ward that he would do all he could to ensure comments he made would be in a form that would be difficult to misinterpret, and that he will continue – in relation to the Israeli//Palestinian situation – to condemn violence on both sides and support moves for a cease fire, I do not intend to take further action in relation to the tweet.
I am conscious that this decision will not satisfy some people. To them I would say, at a time of considerable international unease in the Middle East, comments have been made by politicians from all parties that have been unwelcome by some or other section of society.
The question I have had to answer is not, did the comments by David Ward cause offence to some people (within the party or outside), but did they bring the party into disrepute?
David accepts that his tweet did cause offence to some people. He recognises that the use of Twitter as a form of communication can lead to misinterpretation and accepts the need for greater care in the future. However, I do not believe it was in any way anti-Semitic or motivated by anti-Semitic intentions and I do not believe his tweet brought the party into disrepute.
I believe that his statement including an apology on 23rd July should draw a line under this matter.”
StandForPeace has more on the LibDems little problem with Jews.
But let’s end with a few words from Bassem Eid, a Palestinian human rights activist living in East Jerusalem:
…Hamas depends on death, which gives it power and allows it to raise funds and purchase weapons. Hamas has never been interested in liberating the Palestinian people from the occupation. And Israel will never be able to destroy the infrastructures it has built. Only we, the Palestinian people, can do that.
It was the Gazan residents’ responsibility to rebel against the Hamas rule. We knew what they were doing to us, but we let ourselves off easy and allowed it to happen.
Will all this death finally teach us a lesson? I hope so. The lesson is that we must get rid of Hamas and completely demilitarize Gaza. And then open the crossings.
I’m saying this as a loyal Palestinian. I’m saying this because I am concerned about my people’s future.
Free Gaza…from Hamas.
Fania Oz-Salzberger, daughter of the author Amos Oz, adds:
Being moderate, as Aristotle already noted, does not mean being in the exact middle. Reality is never symmetrical.
For one thing, Hamas is far worse, as a government, than any Israeli government has ever been. The militants of Hamas and Islamic jihad in Gaza are far more brutal, on the ground, than the Israeli army. They surround their fighters with children, store their arsenal in schools and hospitals, including UNRWA institutions, and threaten or kick out any journalists who dare report it. They deliberately aim their rockets at Israeli kindergartens and clinics. If they had Israel’s air force and artillery power, the ensuing massacre of Israelis would dwarf anything we see in Gaza today. When I write these truths, some commentators brand it as Israeli propaganda. But I’d make a lousy propagandist. As a critical member of civil society, I never accept the official reports of my government and army wholesale, but truths are truths whatever their source.
…..
Religion, I’m afraid, often plays an irrational role in this story. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has never been about Judaism and Islam, but about territory and sovereignty. Today, fanatic Islamists have highjacked the Palestinian cause, while extremist orthodox Jews insist on settling every part of the biblical Israel at the expense of compromise. Some radical Christians are entering the fray too, unhelpfully theologizing their unconditional support for one side or the other.Which is why moderate atheists like myself needs all the support we can get from moderate Muslims, Christians, and observant Jews. The dividing line in the current battle is not between the three religions, nor is it between the religious and the irreligious. It runs – this time it’s my turn to borrow a phrase from my father – between all fanatics and all moderates.
Stand up for humanity…
Posted: 13th, August 2014 | In: Politicians, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
