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Israel’s war in Gaza has stoked enormous passions in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of people coming out on the streets to protest and feelings running high on all sides.
But despite the intensity of the public’s response to the conflict, it has had relatively little impact in Westminster over the past six months.
So far, it is Labour that has faced the biggest political headaches because of bitter divides on the left over how stridently Britain should be standing up to Israel over its conduct.
This could now be changing, with the Tories experiencing divides of their own and ministers caught in a tricky dilemma about how they should work with Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.
Tory infighting on Gaza broke out in the open today, with party grandee Sir Alan Duncan potentially facing suspension after he called on prominent Israel supporters to be kicked out of their jobs.
A growing number of MPs want British arms exports to be suspended, even as others accuse the Government of being too hostile to Israel.
Rishi Sunak and David Cameron apparently hope they can outsource a decision on arms exports to their legal teams. Government insiders have confirmed that there is a live discussion over whether or not to stop sending UK-made weapons to Israel, with updated advice from Whitehall lawyers set to tip the balance one way or the other.
One solution could be for the Prime Minister to publish a summary of whatever the updated legal advice says. Government sometimes seems to hate that kind of transparency, but taking decisions in the open can be a way to make sure even the most difficult issues do not lead to lasting acrimony.
