February 6, 2025 - 4:00pm
With Benjamin Netanyahu grinning beside him like Cheshire Cat, on Tuesday Donald Trump doubled down on his earlier comments and confirmed that he did indeed intend to “clean out” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera” of the Middle East.
As I wrote last week, it is hard to believe he has the wherewithal or commitment to go through with this in the face of opposition from all of America’s Arab allies and millions of Palestinians. Already the White House press secretary has confirmed that any evacuation of the strip will be “voluntary” and that no US troops would be involved.
For its part, the UK Labour government must also be praying that these plans are bluster and there will be no attempt to follow through. Labour has prided itself on its grown-up “progressive realist” approach to foreign affairs, whereby bygones can be bygones and it can do business with anyone, even someone like the US President. There were reports of Foreign Secretary David Lammy palling it up with J.D. Vance and Keir Starmer’s chicken dinner at Trump Tower.
But Trump’s threats to Gaza show the ultimate futility and naivety of this approach, and of “progressive realism” in general. As long as the President’s more outrageous ideas remain just words, then it is easy enough for the UK government to quietly state their opposition and move on, like Starmer did at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
There’s no reason why sotto voce repudiation of some of his more madcap ideas should affect Trump’s calculations around trade and diplomatic relations with the UK. In the same way, there was no reason that earlier criticism of him by Labour figures such as Lammy or new Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson had jeopardised a future working relationship. J.D. Vance himself can tell you that forgiveness is possible as long as you publicly bend the knee.
But if the Commander-in-Chief actually tries to go ahead with his twice-stated threats to clean out Gaza, then Starmer would be put in an impossible position. It was awkward enough for him to defend Israel’s actions in Gaza, which could at least, after the 7 October attacks, be framed as “self-defence”.
But with a full-scale US and Israeli military assault to drive out the population of the Strip, in the teeth of Arab resistance, there would be no way to remain non-committal. Labour would have to condemn and oppose such an action in the strongest possible terms, while being powerless to stop it. It would make it impossible for Starmer to maintain a close relationship with Trump, driving a massive wedge between the UK and US for the next four years at least, and surely resulting in the former’s closer alignment with Europe and even China.
That the entire direction of travel of UK foreign policy is dependent on the whims of someone as unreliable as Trump shows the precariousness of Britain’s position, and the ultimate naivety of “progressive realism”.
It’s impossible for the UK to be a kind of “honest broker” or intermediary between the UK and Europe, as Starmer was proposing just 48 hours ago: Trump is unpredictable and has no need for such intermediaries. It’s impossible to know if he is going to say, propose or do something that no UK government of any party could go along with yet could not stop.
Since coming to power, Labour’s policies such as handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and reopening the Legacy Act in Northern Ireland suggest fealty to international law and an “absolute commitment” to human rights. At the same time, there have been overtures to Trump and intimations that hard-nosed pragmatism will define UK policy, as though those two positions weren’t mutually exclusive.
This hare-brained Gaza plan shows how Labour is caught between two stools, with neither a principled, ideological stance with a defined driving mission and clear red lines, nor a truly pragmatic, self-interested stance.
It reinforces the perception of them as people who cut their teeth in an earlier age, one of liberal norms and the international rules-based order, who have not yet adapted to the current geopolitically fraught climate.
David Swift is a historian and author. His next book, Scouse Republic, is available to pre-order now.
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SubscribeThis is rant not substance.
Indeed…
“… propose or do something no UK Party could support…”
Reform could and would and with relish!
I’d vote for one that did for starters.
Starmer and Hermer have made it very clear they will prioritise international legal claims over British interests. And they are happy to do so.
If Unherd had reported Hermer’s speeches this would be more widely known. And deplored.
The Far Left works and thrives in the dark. Only then can no criticism reach it.
This hare-brained Gaza plan
Gaza has a fantastic climate and many miles of sandy beaches. Developing it into the ‘Riviera’ of the Easter Mediterranean makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, sense is not a quality with which the current inhabitants and their enablers in the Western elites are widely endowed. So, in all probability, nothing will change and the Gazans, every single one of whom would already be independently wealthy if the $trillions they’ve been given by gullible westerners had not been so lavishly squandered by the mafia thugs who run the place, will continue to live in squalor and fear.
So don’t worry Mr Swift. Nothing will be done to upset the wonderful ‘rules-based international’ cesspool you’re so keen to maintain.
Indeed. When you look back at history virtually every nation state was founded at some point on the mass migration and/or segregation of ethnic minorities. It’s often the basis of a nations self-identity. “Ethnic cleansing” is nothing new.
Are you including Netanyahu in your list of Hamas enablers? Seeing as he was one of their biggest supporters until quite recently.
Sorry – I don’t have time for anyone who subscribes to mediaeval superstition. That includes Islam, Judaism and socialism and any other ism whose followers think they have some kind of God-given right to impose their stupidity on other people.
I agree. This is what drives me nuts – Gaza had this potential, instead, all the money the got was used to build tunnels and build up an arsenal.
Actually, most of it wound up in real estate developments in Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf. Trump and the leadership of Hamas have more in common than either would like to admit.
That’s unfair. Intent does play a part.
I am not sure I even understand the point of this article. As I understand the history of the Gaza situation when, in 2005 I think, Israel withdrew from Gaza, it was at least showing signs of becoming a thriving ‘Western’ style economy based largely around tourism. There were, apparently, regular, scheduled bus services between Israel and Gaza and many people from both states commuted to work. Then, almost inexplicably, Hamas were elected to power in Gaza and things went steadily, but inexorably, downhill. Hotels and casinos were closed. Tourism was discouraged. Shops and restaurants suffered and eventually closed. The economy tanked. Everyone got poorer and any progress previously made was consigned to the overflowing dustbin of Israel/Gaza history.
I have only one question: Why would the good citizens of the Gaza Strip not want to return to the promise and progress of a thriving, growing economy which holds the potential of prosperity for all rather than being forced to accept the bleak dishonesty and destruction offered by the Islamist terrorists of Hamas?
They don’t have a choice so long as the money from European governments and NGOs keeps coming to Hamas.
So, things were fine until the fine people of Gaza were given the right to govern themselves.
What I have understood from the last two decades – the “victimhood” groups, blacks, muslims, women – suffer the most when members of their group get into power and get to choose policies.
Answer: The ‘good citizens’ of the Gaza Strip would rather live in a S****.O.L.E committed to the destruction of Israel then live in peace and prosperity with Israel.
Hamas rules Gaza by force, not by the choice of the people. Elections have not been held since 2006, and those elections were meaningless too.
Um, we have all seen extensive amounts of video footage indicating otherwise.
Hamas is mostly a Mafia-like extortion syndicate. Money falls into their pockets: or else! Organizations like the UN have been willing victims, for reasons of their own.
These cancers are very difficult to excise. Ask any Sicilian.
There is a consistency in what Trump says
To see that you have to read everything on the White House website. There is also a significant correlation with the Project 2025 “manifesto”. My predictions: Where the Trump MAGA brand matches Project 2025 it will get done until the Republicans in Congress get rattled by the fall out on their electorate. Where it does not it will fall by the wayside. The DOGE executive order to improve the Federal computer systems within eighteen months is a neat way to bypass Congress but will be challenged in the courts. The Supreme Court and Congress will have their say. There will be reality checks. There is no benefit in Starmer responding to everything that is said.
I wouldn’t object quite so much to international legal claims were they formulated and pushed by responsible states. But when tin-pot dictatorships, supporters of terrorism and countries with appalling records on human rights run the show it is ludicrous. For UK to bow down to international bodies that have been taken over by the mob is shameful, and displays a singular disregard for actual human decency as opposed to politicised injustice.
Very well said.
I seem to recall the chair of the UN Human Rights Committee has in recent years been occupied by KSA and Iran, both poster boys for human rights. Also wasn’t the recent “judgement” against Netanyahu the result of a case being brought by South Africa? What the ANC knows about human rights you could write on a postage stamp, but you have to give them points for chutzpah.
Human rights may have started as a concept rooted in genuine care, but let’s be real—it’s now about humanitarian bombing, humanitarian deportation, humanitarian starvation, and humanitarian regime change. And it just keeps getting more refined!
People like you still think USAID was about aid—meanwhile, the reality tells a different story. I’m beginning to think UnHerd commenters throw out opinions without any real-world backing.
The same goes for the U.K. and EU. They fear U.S. behavior despite having full protection, full awareness, and the historical and future capacity to be major players on their own. Instead, they keep acting like children waiting for daddy’s approval.
We need our own humanitarian thinking!
Given how Kim Jong Un repeatedly insulted Trump directly before agreeing to a deal with him, I think we’ll be okay. For all we know Trump might see slinging insults at him as a sign of admirable strength.
Precisely!
Kim Jong Un has nukes, making him equal to the U.S., demanding either respect or contempt. Stammer should admire him and even emulate him!
The U.K. also has nukes but remains mentally neutered by the U.S., fearing abandonment (this type is the mother fear of abandonment of the child she give up for adoption in the new world! You cannot fiction these things).
The EU, once a powerhouse, forgets its own deterrent strength, still clinging to America’s protection like a damsel in distress. The protection BTW is from the protector! the irony (which again the English were a master at some point is lost on all of us)!
When you have nukes? You are protected!
Kim, however, refused dependence, rejected U.S. aid, and built his own alliances.
Russia will not attack a nuke holder so what is holding back EU/UK, only their perception fed by US! you all in abusive relationship!
We are seeing a real stockholm syndrome 80yrs going!
When an author uses the phrase “This hare-brained Gaza plan” in his ‘analysis’, that’s a sure sign it’s a rant and not an ‘analysis’.
Really? It’s all about Starmer??? I think the US Marines wouldn’t exactly find it a walk in the park either. Why even waste time considering such nonsense? 100% Trump bluster and you just can’t help yourself taking the bait.
First weird, Europe doesn’t want immigrants but open to move others around to places that are not theirs! Lol no wonder China is scooping up the world! We are experiencing mass psychos! Why even this our job?
Secondly, The UK, EU, Canada, and Australia must acknowledge that aligning with U.S. foreign policy has cost them their independence. It is time to “prioritize domestic policy over serving American interests.” This is about self-preservation—national and continental survival. The world is bigger than America’s 350 million people, and continuing to sacrifice sovereignty for their agenda is unsustainable and honestly stupid!
Europe should clearly state that its interests come first, even if that means reevaluating alliances, reducing U.S. military presence, and forging new economic and security partnerships with other global powers. The time for blind loyalty is over—it’s time to act in our own interest.
Gaza fiasco may become to know the issue that broke EU/UK and US umbilical core!
EU/UK see what happened to Canada and Mexico and still think they have relationship with US on foreign policy! Wow!
The rule based order ONLY serves us not those economically below us!
Focus on domestic so we do not fall within!
“But with a full-scale US and Israeli military assault to drive out the population of the Strip, in the teeth of Arab resistance, there would be no way to remain non-committal.”
This is silly nonsense; a fever dream. Or, more to the point, just the same scare tactics that we’re all so sick and tired of.
High probability that if offered reasonable relocation out of Gaza significant numbers of Gazans will gladly vote with their feet. Forcing them to stay is a kind of forced reverse colonialism. The European powers have sufficiently screwed up the Middle East with their imposed post World War One boundaries. Best that they focus on Europe. They’ve done enough damage. Incidentally, a similar relocation offer to Israelis might also be taken but the hypocrisy in the West would view that kind of relocation offer as acceptable. The Trump plan may never get off the ground but offering relocation, as happened in Europe following its self imposed implosion in two world wars worked out well. Why condemn people to live in rubble if they prefer somewhere else?
Gaza could have been wealthy- tourism and off shore natural gas for starters. Essentially Independent since 2005 they voted for Hamas in 2007 and focused on militarization to attack and destroy Israel instead of peaceful nation building.
The Palestinians, as a culture, throughout their short history have never focused on building their own state despite having talented individuals. Rather their nascent national identity has been almost entirely based on objection to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. Why? Because the Middle East is mired in honor culture societies and the success of Israel is an afront to their honor instead of being seen as a partner for mutual benefit. In addition radical Muslim movements like Hamas are not Palestinian national movements but rather messianic movements seeking to create a worldwide caliphate. Their values differ from western values and the west will never be able to design effective policies for dealing with non western cultures until the west steps out of it bubble mind set.
I’m still waiting for a better idea. We’ve had forty off years of the same old same old with disastrous results.
Forty odd sorry