The defense secretary has previously said — in WhatsApp messages to former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson before Streeting took up his current job — that “Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes,” and is committing “rogue state behaviour” in the West Bank.
Asked about these messages Wednesday, Streeting refused to repeat them. But he said: “I’m not going to pretend I didn’t make those comments.”
His remarks highlight the continued ripple effects on the left of British politics over Israel’s protracted campaign in the Gaza Strip, which followed the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. The new defense secretary nearly lost his parliamentary seat of Ilford North at the last general election after a large turnout among pro-Palestinian constituents, and has been projected to lose it by some pollsters.
Streeting also refused to say whether he believes Britain should continue to buy Israeli weapons as those are “not my decisions alone.”
“I’ve expressed very clearly my concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank,” he said, adding that he believes “very strongly in Israel’s right to defend itself, to defend its values, its freedom, and its democracy, just as we do every single day.”
Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has tried to make a break with his predecessor, Keir Starmer, who was condemned by some in his own party for his staunch support for Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7 – including a broadcast interview in which he appeared to say that Israel had the “right” to cut off water and energy to Gaza.