The Palestine Papers, Israel and Britain

Gilad Atzmon argues that more than anything, the leaked Palestine Papers show that Israel is not in the slightest bit interested in peace, and they demonstrate British deceitfulness and hypocrisy.

I have a rule: I never intervene in Palestinian political matters. I never comment on Palestinian internal debates. I do not think that I have the right to do so. I am an ex-Israeli and an ex-Jew, and I write about Israel, Jewish identity politics and Zionism.

For me, the leaked Palestine Papers provide us with a valuable glimpse into Israeli politics and Western complicity in the crimes carried out against the Palestinian people. I realize that most Palestinian commentators agree that the leaked papers have “damaged whatever little credibility the Ramallah-based authority still enjoyed among Palestinians”. Yet, more than anything else, the Papers prove beyond doubt that Israel is not a partner for peace. In spite of the weaknesses that have been shown by the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the 1990s, Israel has failed to secure a peace deal, and has consistently failed to show any will to bring the conflict to an end. In short, Israel has always wanted more.

“...at the time that the British government was supposedly advocating ‘democracy’ in Palestine, the reality was quite different: British ‘James Bonds’ were investing enormous effort in trying to destroy the rising political power in Palestine. One may wonder: what kind of ‘British interests’ was MI6 serving in doing so?”

The Palestine Papers have also clearly shown that whilst Israel likes to present an image of “political pluralism”, that is little more than a deception: there is not much difference at all between Tzipi Livni and Avigdor Lieberman. Both are Zionist enthusiasts, and both are interested in a “Jews-only state” – Indeed, just like Lieberman Livni too, offered to “transfer Israeli Arabs.”

Yesterday, we learned that as far back as 2004 the British secret intelligence service MI6 was assisting the PA in the war against Hamas. According to the Guardian newspaper “The Palestinian Authority's security strategy to crush Hamas and other armed groups on the West Bank was originally drawn up by Britain's intelligence service, MI6.”

So, at the time that the British government was supposedly advocating “democracy” in Palestine, the reality was quite different: British “James Bonds” were investing enormous effort in trying to destroy the rising political power in Palestine. One may wonder: what kind of ‘British interests’ was the MI6 serving in doing so? It is far from being a secret that in 2004 Tony Blair was primarily funded by Labour Friends of Israel, and his No.1 fundraiser was Lord Levy.

The Palestinian people will liberate themselves eventually. In the meantime, we must all liberate ourselves from the grip of Israeli and Jewish lobbies.