Hague defends himself against Tory attacks
William Hague has defended the Conservative leadership’s approach to the Middle East crisis, after two senior party members condemned its tough line on Israel.
The shadow foreign secretary defended his statement that Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon were disproportionate, and said all friends of the Jewish state should be “frank” about the damage it was doing to the government in Beirut.
His comments, made in an article for The Times after consulting with party leader David Cameron, follow criticism by former Conservative treasurer Lord Kalms that his condemnation was nothing more than the “buzzwords of the ignorant armchair critic”.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith also spoke out yesterday, warning that the international community’s “jaw-jaw” had done little to stop the suicide bombing attacks on Israel’s cities.
In a letter to The Spectator, Lord Kalms responds to an article by Mr Hague two weeks ago, when he said Israel’s attacks on Lebanese infrastructure “have been disproportionate, and our Foreign Office should not be afraid to say so”.
The peer writes: “William Hague’s usual good sense has deserted him. Criticising Israel for being disproportionate without serious consideration of the alternatives merely mouths the buzzwords of the ignorant armchair critic.”
He continues: “Proportionality in common terminology might mean tit for tat. Do you, William, really believe this to be a serious possibility or a practical response to Hizbullah’s genocide policy?
“A tragedy is unfolding; the outcome is life or death to the Israeli nation state. William, your comments are not merely unhelpful, they are downright dangerous. As on other issues, is the Conservative party changing its ground?”
In his article for conservativehome.com, Mr Duncan Smith is less overt in his criticism, but says: “Most observers, including some leading members of my own party, believe that Israel has acted ‘disproportionately’.
“Hardly any attention is given to the fact that Hizbullah launch their missiles from residential areas. Hizbullah think nothing of using family homes and flats as human shields. When Saddam Hussain did that we were appalled. But not now.”
He adds: “The best thing the world community does is talk. Disproportionate talking is in fact the only thing it does but jaw-jaw has not stopped the suicide bomb or missile attacks on Israel.”
Writing this morning, Mr Hague said Tory leader David Cameron had been clear that the government was right to call for a sustainable ceasefire rather than an unconditional one.
But he added: “The government should have been able to say clearly two weeks ago that elements of the Israeli response were disproportionate, risking unnecessary loss of civilian life and an increase in popular support for Hizbullah.”
He criticised the “uninspiring and divided” response of the world’s leaders to the crisis, and called for the government to work with the US and other allies to come up with a viable plan for a ceasefire in the region.
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