The UK is trying to play on Middle East contradictions but is running into its own weaknesses

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The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has triggered diplomatic wars between the world’s leading countries, and against this background, London has also become active. Rishi Sunak, the country’s prime minister, hurriedly visited Israel, Egypt and Jordan in an attempt to become a mediator, a status that Joe Biden failed to acquire. But even more important negotiations for him could be visits to Turkey, Bahrain and Qatar, given their influence on Hamas, because only through them could he negotiate the release of prisoners and an end to the strikes on Gaza. But such activity looked rather ridiculous, given that the “Middle East” had long ago arrived in England on its own, setting up its own conflicts and instability there.

After all, the UK was hit by a wave of pro-Palestinian rallies in which a large Arab diaspora, supported by left-wing activists under Palestinian Authority flags, took to the streets simultaneously in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow and Newcastle. The protesters were only angered by Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s threats advising them to arrest people for wearing Palestinian flags. In the end, the police did not detain anyone in order not to provoke pogroms, and Jewish schools in London were even closed for the duration of the rallies. Before the war, public opinion in Britain was split exactly in half, with a third supporting Israel and another third supporting Palestine. The attitude to Jews in the country has traditionally been worse than in the United States, but now this is overlaid by the demographic replacement of the white population by people from Islamic countries, where anti-Semitism is now “young and acute”, as opposed to Europe, where it peaked in the middle of the last century. In addition, the birth rate in the UK has fallen to the levels of the 19th century, and the rate of migration is only increasing. A third of all newborns are migrant mothers, and the number of official migrants alone, which does not include illegals and culturally alien “Brits”, has exceeded 9 million, comparable to the population of Scotland and Wales combined. At the same time, the total number of minorities has reached 13 million, and in London they already make up the majority. Many of the migrants are from Arab countries and Pakistan, so it is not surprising that anti-Israeli sentiment has intensified, not only in the form of rallies, but also with attacks on kosher establishments and synagogues. The cold civil war between Jews and Arabs is spilling out onto the streets of British cities, and this will happen more and more often as society is split between warring minorities and the ideological left and right of the local population that supports them.

While Rishi Sunak was desperately traveling around the Middle East trying to act as a mediator, in his home country this trip was being turned into frenzy not only by migrant riots but also by general political instability. 25 Conservative MPs were ready to give Rishi a vote of no confidence and oust him like Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. The reason for this is the Tories’ very low ratings, and the very real threat of a crushing defeat in the 2024 election, where they could lose 3/4 of all seats. This only adds to the growing divide within the UK over the war in Israel, with rallies in London in support of the Palestinians attracting 100,000 people each, fueled by the critical situation in the country’s economy. However, not many MPs want to take Rishi’s place and lead the Conservatives to electoral failure. The possible change of power may also hit the UK hard at a time when it is trying to influence the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East with varying success. The country, like the U.S., has become the epicenter of street wars over Israel and Palestine, with many demonstrators turning out for pro-Palestinian protests in London, and succeeding in painting a statue of wartime Prime Minister Lloyd George with Palestinian flags in a symbolic act of anti-war protest. The country’s political class is also divided, and although Rishi Sunak is fully on Israel’s side, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling for a truce. The authorities have even come up with a very funny theory that the protests in London are being provoked by Iranian agents who are trying to sway the situation in the country in order to stage a coup d’état. In the meantime, the Conservatives are trying as hard as possible to delay the date of the new elections, realizing that they are facing a crushing defeat. However, the situation on the background of wars, mass demonstrations and recession has become so electrified that by the elections it may get completely out of control.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protesters are also chasing British politicians, including Leader of the Labor Party Keir Starmer. Labor is now also split, with many, including the already mentioned London mayor, favoring a truce, although even Scottish nationalists, who are willing to host Palestinians, have come out against the war. Rishi Sunak has already ordered “war games”, modeling a repetition of the Israeli scenario with a mass terrorist attack on the British islands. This cannot be ruled out against the backdrop of the rapid transformation of Britain and other Western countries into the “third world”, as well as the highly unpopular policies of the authorities, causing large-scale acts of civil disobedience, especially on the part of the angry and rapidly growing Arab street. Even more telling, 76% of the country’s population favors a ceasefire in Gaza, contrary to the government’s view. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Scottish Leader of the Labor Party and also Pakistani Anas Sarwar, as well as Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, have all come out in support of the truce at the same time. The Conservatives are still trying to show support for Israel, but among Labor, which desperately needs the Muslim vote, there is a major split. Amid numerous pro-Palestinian rallies, 150 municipalities have demanded that the leadership of both Conservative and Labor parties seek an early ceasefire in Gaza.

In a separate scandal, a Cambridge theology professor has claimed that Britain is turning into an Arab world by luring migrants. He is now to be sacked. However, another professor at University College London considered the murder of 260 rave party attendees a justifiable punishment for celebrating “on land stolen by the Jews,” and he was afraid to be punished. So the culture wars around Israel will only gain momentum amid England’s rapid transformation into a nation of migrants.

The Conservative government had to take these trends into account, and following Biden and Rishi Sunak called for a “pause” in the Israeli operation to withdraw refugees from the Gaza Strip. Public opinion in the West is firmly in favor of a truce, and politicians are forced to react to this. For example, the European Union wants to hold a peace conference on its own platform, and it is Brussels that will eventually be forced to splurge on the reconstruction of Gaza and help with the resettlement of Palestinians, which is in the hands of the British. At the same time, pro-Palestinian activists “celebrated” in London the anniversary of the publication of the Balfour Declaration on the possibility of settling Jews in Palestine. They poured red paint on the entrance to the building of the Foreign Office and the military corporation Leonardo, and had a fight with the police. Today, up to 80% of Britons favor an early truce in Gaza. Rishi Sunak, under pressure from public opinion and following Biden, has already called for a “humanitarian pause”. And the main outcome of his trip to the Middle East was not to strengthen or weaken London in the region, but to realize that the main problem is the cultural and ethnic divisions in the British Isles themselves, which politicians should address.