Transcript [00:00] We know obviously the issue of [00:01] sanctions, and all the issues [00:02] surrounding this are, you know, are not [00:04] something that that Israel would [00:06] support. But, would it go as far as [00:08] withholding intelligence information, do [00:11] you think, to the UK if this went ahead? [00:14] >> Look, there are absolutely no winners [00:16] from a diplomatic fight between Israel [00:19] and Britain except for the Labour Party. [00:21] And that tells you why Ed Miliband is [00:23] doing this. Israel is a strategic [00:26] partner for the UK. It is Britain's [00:28] second biggest defense supplier. It [00:30] supplies critical intelligence. This is [00:33] not a relationship that you want to blow [00:35] up in order to appease your radical [00:38] base. I don't think we'd see Israel [00:40] withholding critical intelligence that [00:43] could prevent terror attacks. wants to [00:45] see British people being hurt. The [00:48] question is this, Britain needs a strong [00:51] Israel. If you want that intelligence, [00:54] if you want that defense technology, you [00:56] need an Israel that is safe and secure. [01:00] And an Israel that is feeling [01:01] threatened, an Israel that is [01:03] economically undermined by pointless [01:05] sanctions designed to appease Labour's [01:08] radical base, that creates a weaker [01:10] Israel that would have to focus inwards [01:13] and simply be less generous with the [01:15] friends and allies it wants to help, [01:17] like the United Kingdom. [01:20] >> As you say, I mean, the [01:21] problematic in in that sense. Is it [01:24] right, though, do you think, that that [01:27] the UK, the UK government, the foreign [01:29] secretary should raise [01:32] these legitimate concerns about what [01:34] Israel is doing, particularly when it [01:36] comes to settlements? I mean, [01:39] we've had a guest on this morning [01:40] arguing that perhaps we should just keep [01:42] our mouth shut and just back Israel all [01:43] the way on everything it wants to do. [01:45] That's [snorts] not fair, is it? [01:47] >> Britain needs to stand together with its [01:49] strategic partner Israel. I mean, to [01:51] hear Ed Miliband talk about wanting to [01:54] impose sanctions because of stories he's [01:57] heard coming out of Gaza. Gaza is a [01:59] basket case because it's controlled by a [02:02] terrorist group called Hamas. Hamas that [02:04] continues to use hospitals as military [02:06] headquarters, that uses them as places [02:09] where it imprisons and beats up its [02:11] opponents, where it refuses to disarm so [02:14] that reconstruction can begin from [02:16] people who deserve to rebuild their [02:18] lives. But instead of putting pressure [02:20] on Hamas, he's putting pressure on a UK [02:23] ally, a UK strategic partner, Israel. [02:26] And that's only emboldening the same [02:28] terrorists who were encouraged by the [02:30] Labour government's recognition of a [02:32] non-existent Palestinian state. Remember [02:35] that? Hamas said it was a reward for the [02:38] October 7th massacre. It was one of the [02:40] fruits of the October 7th massacre. So [02:43] Hamas is looking at the UK government [02:44] and where it sees more daylight between [02:46] Britain and Israel, it's rubbing its [02:48] hands with glee. Ed Miliband said he [02:50] wants to reset this relationship. I [02:53] think he's confused the reset button for [02:56] the erase all contents and settings [02:58] button. This isn't what we need to do. [03:00] We need to reset that strategic [03:02] partnership, but to put it on a stronger [03:03] footing. [03:05] >> Will it ever be possible to remove [03:08] Hamas? Or are they so embedded within [03:11] the population that it would be [03:12] impossible? [03:15] >> Well, Israel gave it a darn good fight [03:17] for nearly 2 years trying to destroy [03:19] Hamas. The problem was it had embedded [03:21] itself directly under the population in [03:24] a network of tunnels longer than the [03:26] London Underground under schools and [03:28] homes and hospitals. And it's refusing [03:30] to disarm. That's why we need [03:32] international pressure, including from [03:34] Hamas's patrons, from Qatar and Turkey, [03:38] that Hamas has to disarm, has to [03:41] relinquish power, so that reconstruction [03:43] can begin. Because as long as Gaza is [03:46] governed by a barbaric terrorist [03:48] organization that is just waiting for a [03:51] moment of weakness to invade and kidnap [03:53] little Israeli children again, then Gaza [03:55] is going to remain a disaster zone. It [03:57] will be impossible, no matter how much [04:00] aid you send in there, to rebuild [04:02] peacefully. So, Hamas has to go, and [04:04] that's where the international community [04:06] needs to put its pressure, not picking [04:08] pointless fights with Israel to placate [04:10] the labor base. [04:12] >> I look, I'm just intrigued by that, and [04:14] it's [04:15] you're an expert on this, of course you [04:17] are, because you've you've lived and [04:18] breathed it your whole life. [04:20] Uh and for the rest of us, it's [04:21] something we observe from a distance. [04:23] But when you say, and as you as you [04:25] rightly say, about the risks to little [04:27] Israeli children, of course that is a [04:30] real risk. It is a real concern, and [04:32] things have happened in the past many, [04:34] many times to Israeli children and [04:36] Israeli families. But of course, this [04:38] goes back to the argument that Israel [04:41] has um [04:43] the overreacted Well, overreacted, no, [04:46] that's not the right term, to October [04:48] the 7th, which was horrific. Well, no [04:50] Well, no, it's not the right term, but [04:52] but what we've seen um [04:56] uh in Gaza, and the the level of death [04:59] and destruction, and the [05:01] we can't get really solid figures on it [05:03] all, but the number of Palestinian [05:05] women, children, families that have been [05:08] killed by this action. Now, you can [05:09] blame Hamas for that, the way they're [05:11] embedded, the way they use human [05:13] shields, but nevertheless, you can't [05:17] prioritize [05:18] is little Israeli children over little [05:20] Palestinian children, can you? [05:23] >> Well, I'm prioritizing children in the [05:26] region. [05:27] And no children are going to be safe as [05:29] long as Hamas is trying to use the Gaza [05:32] Strip as a launchpad for more barbarian [05:35] invasions, in which it will kidnap [05:37] children, and then hide under tunnels [05:40] underneath Palestinian children's [05:42] bedrooms. That is a threat to everyone [05:44] in the region. Look, this war has been [05:46] horrific, and of course, it wouldn't [05:48] have happened if Hamas had not invaded [05:51] to kidnap little children, abduct them [05:53] into the Gaza Strip, and fight a [05:55] barbaric war from under people's feet. [05:57] You say that they use civilians as human [05:59] shields, they use them as human [06:01] sacrifices. Hamas' strategy is to [06:05] increase bloodletting from innocent [06:07] civilians on its own side in order to [06:09] generate international sympathy and [06:11] outrage against Israel. Hamas' leaders [06:13] have said plainly they think October 7th [06:16] was worth it because they managed to [06:18] spark protests in London and New York [06:20] against Israel. This is a sick, [06:22] sadistic, death cult. And if children on [06:25] the Israeli side and the Gaza inside are [06:27] going to have any future, it's only if [06:30] Hamas relinquishes power and if Gaza [06:33] abandons Hamas' vision of trying to [06:36] destroy Israel and want to live side by [06:39] side in peace with us. So, Hamas has to [06:41] go. And when they see a British [06:42] government picking a fight with Israel, [06:45] that [06:45] doesn't want to go, does it? [06:46] >> And this well, they look and this is a [06:48] bigger argument in the sense if you [06:49] bring it back to what's the issue with [06:51] this with the sanctions and all the rest [06:53] of it is if you say and it would be [06:56] obviously the the best but difficult [06:58] solution to live side by side, a [07:00] two-state solution. The argument being [07:02] made by people like Ed Miliband here and [07:06] indeed many other European countries is [07:09] that this sort of expansion and building [07:12] on occupied territory on the West Bank [07:14] is actually [07:16] what is preventing any future two-state [07:18] solution, preventing that peace that you [07:20] talk about. [07:23] >> October 7th killed the two-state [07:26] solution because Palestinian terrorists [07:29] used territory that Israel had withdrawn [07:31] from in the interest of peace to launch [07:34] a barbaric invasion. And after October [07:36] 7th, Israelis are saying, "If you think [07:39] that we can withdraw from the West Bank, [07:42] which is 20 times bigger than Gaza. It's [07:45] the mountains overlooking Tel Aviv and [07:47] surrounding Jerusalem, and put ourselves [07:50] at risk of another barbarian invasion [07:52] from terrorists. You need to get your [07:54] head checked. The root of the conflict [07:57] is that the Palestinian national [07:59] movement wants what they're chanting on [08:01] the streets of London. From the river to [08:03] the sea, [08:05] no Israel. And as long as they're [08:07] committed to destroying the state of [08:09] Israel, Israelis would have to be [08:11] suicidal to relinquish territory that [08:14] leaves the country only 9 miles wide at [08:17] its narrowest point. So, I think if the [08:19] British government wants to promote [08:21] peace, it needs to have a serious [08:23] conversation with the Israeli people [08:25] about why the withdrawal from Gaza [08:27] failed, how terrorists were able to fill [08:30] that vacuum, instead of banging on about [08:32] the same tired clichés over and over [08:34] again, giving a free pass to the [08:36] terrorists, and in the case of Ed [08:38] Miliband, laundering their propaganda in [08:41] order to pick an entirely pointless [08:43] fight with a British strategic partner. [08:46] >> So, to put a fine point on it, do you [08:47] have any faith in our new foreign [08:50] secretary, Ed Miliband? [08:52] >> In a word, [08:55] >> Yeah. [08:55] >> no. [08:57] >> [laughter] [08:57] >> No, it's it's clear that he is not [08:59] pursuing Britain's national interests, [09:01] which lie in deepening the strategic [09:04] partnership with Israel. Labour is [09:06] vulnerable to Gaza independence in the [09:09] next election, and that means they're [09:11] pandering on the Gaza issue. Even though [09:13] there's a ceasefire, even though Hamas [09:15] is the obstacle, they need to pick a [09:16] fight with Israel in order to placate [09:18] their radical base. That's the [09:20] situation, and they're playing student [09:21] politics with British national security. [09:24] >> Okay. Eylon Levy, good to talk to you. [09:26] >> Yes, Danny.
