Israel has “fallen short” of the UK’s military standards during its war in Gaza, new British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Wednesday.
Streeting, who entered the role this week, told journalists at the Farnborough International Airshow that as a “friend and ally,” Israel should be held to the same standards that the UK holds itself to.
“That is the standard that I think, I fear, they’ve fallen short of,” he said.
When asked to address his previous comments that “Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes,” Streeting told journalists, “I’m not going to pretend I didn’t make those comments.”
Colonel Richard Kemp, a staunch ally of Israel, disputed Streeting’s statements, writing, “Israel exceeded what any other army could do in Gaza in fighting capabilities.”
Military experts challenge Streeting’s criticism of Israel
“If he [Streeting] is talking about minimizing harm to non-combatants, they also exceeded all other armies’ precautions. I witnessed it first hand; he did not and nor did any of his staff or advisers.”
“Nowhere in this article has Mr. Streeting been quoted as specifying how Israel fell short. Such offhand and unsubstantiated statements fuel Jew hatred in this country & we’ve seen the consequences of that. Politicians need to avoid making incendiary comments they can’t back up.”
John Spencer, a retired United States Army officer turned war scholar, said, “That didn’t take long. UK’s new government so overwhelmed with priorities it couldn’t wait to comment (misinformed and uneducated) about Israel.”
International lawyer Natasha Hausdorff said it is “truly disgraceful that Streeting would make this false claim in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.”
“I’ll take General Sir John McColl’s 53 years’ military experience, and his observations from on the ground in Gaza, over a politician’s unfounded allegations, any day of the week.”
Hausdorff referred here to an op-ed by General McColl in the Times in September 2024.
British general says IDF standards surpassed Western allies
McColl, who served for 38 years in the British Army and was in combat in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, concluded that “the IDF’s operations and rules of engagement were rigorous compared to the British Army and our western allies.”
“War is terrible, but sometimes necessary. And Israeli soldiers are fighting in conditions of extraordinary complexity and risk. It’s time for the world to have its eyes opened to that,” he wrote at the time.
Former British Army Major and now military historian Robert Lyman said on Thursday that he was informed that what Streeting said “is categorically not the advice he’s been given.”
“The MOD briefing document on this subject was based on Lieutenant General John McColl’s investigation,” he said.
Lyman then offered three options of what led to Streeting’s comments.
“One, he’s read the brief, and disagreed with it. Two, he’s read the brief, but has ignored it for domestic political reasons. Or three, he hasn’t had time yet to read the brief, but wanted to position himself in the right place with his constituents from the get-go.”
