Wow: an Israeli spokesperson who can actually speak

Well, I berated one of Israel’s official spokesmen on this website at the end of last week for his incompetence, and for the damage that that incompetence does to Israel’s reputation. I also said that the spokesman’s performance was sadly typical of the staff employed by the State to put its case.

I’m now going to row back from that, somewhat. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a trade envoy for the Israeli government, was on the BBC just now and she handled herself pretty well. She was asked what she thought of a fresh statement put out by the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who had called back senior government ministers from holiday for an emergency meeting about the worsening conditions in Gaza.

Starmer said this, just before 5:00 pm:

Our goal remains a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, but right now that goal is under pressure like never before. 

I’ve always said that we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the Two-State solution. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act. 

So today, as part of this process towards peace, I can confirm the UK will recognise the State of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government take substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. And this includes allowing the UN to restart supply aid and making clear that will be no annexations in the West Bank. 

Meanwhile our message to the terrorists of Hamas is unchanged and unequivocal: they must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm, and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza. 

And we will make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps, but no one should have a veto over our decision.

Minutes later, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum was asked her reaction—which means that she hadn’t had time to be briefed (or, it would seem, to have fully taken on board all of the prime minister’s points). She said this:

Well, I just think there’s a bit of much ado about nothing because, ultimately, you can recognise a Palestinian state all you want, but he doesn’t know the borders. Is he going to recognise Hamas as a legitimate governing force in Gaza, which is a prescribed terrorist group in the UK? [Starmer had just said he would not.] Is he recognising the PA as a legitimate government of the Palestinian people, even though they haven’t had an election in 20 years and they pay people to kill Jews? They have a pay-to-slay policy, where they give pensions to people who have committed murder. It seems to me very performative, very much to quell an ever-growing problem of Islamism in the UK and ultimately has zero-zero significance.

It was then put to her that Sir Keir Starmer had set out the conditions that needed to be met by Israel, by September, that would excuse the UK from recognising a Palestinian state. Would Israel move on some of those, not least allowing aid into Gaza and settlements in the West Bank?

The problem of the aid, Hassan-Nahoum replied, is not with the Israeli side. Israel lets in tons and tons of aid every single day: we’ve shown the pictures. The problem with aid—

“The pictures show,” interrupted her interviewer, “that the people are starving and that the suffering is enormous, and that’s why there’s been fierce international condemnation of Israel’s actions over the last few months and why Britain has taken this step.”

Well, she continued, the propaganda of terrorists apparently seems to have worked and, yes, there is food insecurity because there’s a war but, ultimately, you’ve seen the pictures, I hope, of all the aid sitting on the Gaza side of the border that the UN refuse to distribute and that’s why they’re sitting there.

And Hamas have been stealing and enriching their coffers to the tune of $500 million in the last year and a half: that’s the reality.

Now Hamas does a wonderful job of propaganda, which everybody falls for, hook, line and sinker, and ask yourself why the iconic picture of that poor little boy, who’s actually suffering from cystic fibrosis, has to be the picture of starvation, when his mother doesn’t look starved and his brother sitting next to him doesn’t look starved either.

The UK has been a very long-term ally of Israel, said her interviewer. Do you still consider the UK to be an ally? 

I would hope so. I’m British and I’m Israeli and I would hope that Britain will wake up. I think Britain’s got a lot of problems that have nothing to do with Israel, and are turning a lot of their attention towards Israel in order to quell down a lot of unrest within its own country, and I’m very sad to see that, once again, Israel has been scapegoated by Britain and France for their own problem with Islamists in their own country.

Not bad. Seven out of ten, perhaps eight. An even-paced delivery. Uncomplaining acceptance of the questions and their validity. Efficient and measured responses. No ranting. No repetition. No time-wasting. No attempt to railroad the questioner. No rudeness. No outrage. Just nice, tight, concise points—even if some were debatable. And a bit of personal engagement. That’s a lot better than last week.

But, oh dear: there’s such a long way to go.