Galloway in Parliament - January 12th

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This was part of the speech by David Milliband on why Britain is doing nothing to help the Palestinians. His answer to GG's question was delivered with short-shrift, but it proved nothing but his determination to maintain the status quo. What are 'gesture politics' if not the sort which make a point? What are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if not gesture politics?

I'll try and grab the clip from the parliament archive at some point, though if anyone else wants to, here's the link for the whole day.

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/VideoPlayer.aspx?meetingId=781

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Mr. George Galloway (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Respect): The Foreign Secretary is not in favour of the isolation of Israel but he was in favour of the isolation of the Government elected in Palestine, in the only free parliamentary election ever held in any Arab country, because the people voted the wrong way. He joined the siege of the Hamas Government and helped create the desperation that led to the barrage of rockets—largely ineffectual, as he has conceded. Action speaks louder than words. The resolution he boasts of drafting is an ineffectual section 6—

Mr. Speaker: Order. I must stop the hon. Gentleman. He must ask a question. He is up there making a speech but he has not asked a question. He knows the rules of the House well enough. Ask a question.

Mr. Galloway: I will, Mr. Speaker. Why will the Government not recall our ambassador from Tel Aviv, ask the Israeli ambassador to leave, and, above all, stop selling British weapons to the mass-murderers who are taking so many lives and limbs in Palestine today?

David Miliband: The hon. Gentleman has no evidence at all of British arms being used to take lives and limbs in Gaza. Withdrawing our ambassador from Israel, or kicking the Israeli ambassador out of London, may be the sort of gesture politics that the hon. Gentleman thinks is effective, but I do not think that it would achieve anything when it comes to making the sort of progress that all of us in this House want to see in the middle east.

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The last line of Letts' article says it all as far as I'm concerned - 'we might yet need Israel as a military ally'. This, as far as I'm concerned, is the only reason throughout the last 60 years for the West giving them any support at all. Israel is a military foothold for Western power in the area and nothing more.