Why don’t US and Britain condemn Israel?

Remember the hullabaloo within the international community (ie, Britain and the USA), when Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi was threatening to march on Benghazi?

There was widespread condemnation. ‘We can’t stand back and allow this massacre to take place’ was the clarion call. Forget that Benghazi had been overrun by terrorists — an armoury had been plundered and police officers had been lynched.

What would Britain have done if Coventry had been overrun with terrorists? Was Gaddafi not defending his country? Cue the conflict in Gaza, where ‘Israel has every right to defend itself’ and Hamas are considered the aggressors. When will the no-fly zone be imposed? When will we see the emergency debate over Gaza in the House of Commons? When will we see the harsh sanctions imposed against Israel? Yet all we get are reports of Barack Obama having “serious concerns” and John Kerry saying that Israel’s actions are “appropriate and legitimate”. Six months down the road, Israel will receive another shipment of military hardware from the US or the UK. The double standards are screaming in people’s faces and yet we’ll continue to watch one side commit acts of terrorism with impunity, while other states, out of favour, will be condemned for far less.

Louis Shaw cross

4 Inns Court

Hillsborough

Co Down