Has the genocide war in Gaza revealed the "need for change" in Britain?

The website "Declassified UK" published an article by Mark Curtis and Laura Bickcock, the editors of the site, stating that the Israeli genocide against Gaza has exposed the oligarchic system (minority rule) governing Britain, which must be changed.

The article stated that the genocide in Gaza should be a "turning point in British history, as the political system has failed miserably to confront genocide, and has made the British establishment complicit in one of the worst atrocities of our time: the ongoing Israeli assault on Palestinians, including ethnic cleansing, systematic attacks on schools and hospitals, and crimes against humanity."

It added that British leaders have cooperated militarily, politically, and diplomatically with Israel throughout the attacks on Palestinians in Gaza; however, imposing significant sanctions on Israel has now completely fallen off the government's agenda, in stark contrast to Russia, as the establishment chooses to support Israel even in its crimes.

It clarified that "there is no moral fiber in the British political and economic decision-making process. But this does not mean that the system is 'broken'; it is functioning as intended, and what we are witnessing is the peak of ministers' impunity for complicity in crimes abroad and the irrelevance of human rights and international law in British policymaking."

It mentioned that "the primary concern of the ruling establishment has been the protection of Israel and the British and Israeli arms industries. Thus, Gaza highlights many deep-seated issues in British governance and reveals the illusion of democracy in the UK, necessitating a mass movement to address ten key issues."

It added that "the most important issue revealed by the genocide in Gaza is that the government and political decision-makers do not value human life and do not treat it seriously."

It pointed out that "since the October 2023 war, British ministers have placed their strategic alliance with Israel above the lives of Palestinians stripped of their humanity, even as the death toll rises to tens of thousands. Ministers in both the Conservative and Labour governments have explicitly apologized for Israel's blatant violations of international law and human rights."

Moreover, "the government's description of the Israeli attack on Gaza as merely a war on Hamas, and the media's coverage of the genocide through this framework, has lent credibility to Israel's strategy of inflicting collective punishment on Palestinians."

This was evident when Israeli President Isaac Herzog - who was later welcomed by Keir Starmer at Downing Street - stated that an entire "people" of Palestinians were "responsible" for the attacks in October.

The article stated that "far from Gaza, the reality is that Britain has contributed to numerous genocides around the world and supports most of the repressive regimes globally, where British arms and diplomatic support contribute to many of them.

There is no need to compare the hawkish stance of the government on Russia and its war against Ukraine with the Israeli war on Gaza.

Thus, we need a foreign policy that respects and adheres to human rights."

It added, "The second issue is the commitment to international law, where all British governments claim to be committed to it, but this is not entirely true.

Gaza has revealed a belief that they can act like criminals, supporting the laws they like and ignoring those they do not.

The British government has repeatedly refused to acknowledge Israeli war crimes and has granted "special immunity" to Israeli military leaders to visit Britain.

Britain has also made efforts to protect Israel from legal blame, in stark contrast to Russia.

The uncomfortable truth that cannot be mentioned in the mainstream media is that Britain is a rogue state in its foreign policies."

It noted that "the third point concerns the government's disregard for popular pressure; the majority of the British public opposed Israel's attack on Gaza and sympathized with the Palestinians.

Popular pressure, including dozens of massive national marches, ultimately forced the government to retract its initial explicit public support for the Israeli mass attacks.

However, the British government has only improved its support for Israel in the midst of genocide, imposing selective sanctions on two Israeli ministers, not imposing a comprehensive arms embargo, continuing trade relations, and remaining a strategic ally, while strongly opposing imposing significant sanctions on it."

The article confirmed that "when the government faced pressure from the 'Palestine Action' movement, which directly targeted the largest Israeli arms company in Britain, Elbit Systems, it simply banned it.

Without the British government reforming its policy, there will be few ways for the public to influence it, certainly not through official mechanisms."

It added, "There must be real accountability; what is the use of Parliament if elected representatives cannot ensure that the establishment is not complicit