The Oct 7th Litmus Test for Western Leaders

Following the joint statement issued by France, the UK, and Canada on 20 May, on 28 May, France condemned any Israeli attempt to annex the Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank) or the Gaza Strip, calls for an immediate ceasefire, hostage release, and the lifting of aid restrictions in the UK Parliament on 4 June and 10 June, following the 10 June apprehension of six French nationals aboard Gerta Thunberg’s “Freedom Flotilla,” France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs reiterated its call for Israel to “allow the immediate, massive, unhindered entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” and targeted sanctions on Israeli ministers applied on 10 June in which the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway announced coordinated sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir (National Security Minister) and Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister). These sanctions involve asset freezes and entry bans. The justification given was their “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank” and “extremist rhetoric” advocating for the displacement of Palestinians and settlement expansion.

Let us look at what the leaders of the original statement — France, the UK, and Canada — posted on X in the immediate wake of Oct 7th and up to the present day.

The Statement

In their statement, these three countries expressed opposition to Israel’s continued military action in Gaza (that we have not given in to), requested we renew humanitarian aid to Gazans (we capitulated on this one), and insisted that Hamas return our hostages (looking forward to success in that). They oppose our expanding settlement in Judea and Samaria as if this is the impediment to peace in the region. They insist on a ceasefire as if there was never a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. And, finally, they announce their hope that a Palestinian state will be declared without our input. (Over our dead bodies?)

Hamas cheers this move. Way to go France, UK, and Canada!

French President Emmanuel Macron

Not counting duplicates in French and English, I counted over 80 posts uploaded by Macron between Oct 7th and now. After an immediate short condemnation of the Hamas attack, later that same day, he posted a longer one:

I have spoken to President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu. I condemn the attacks carried out from Gaza on Israel, its soldiers and its people. France stands in solidarity with Israel and the Israelis, committed to their security and their right to defend themselves.

By Oct 10, he was already posting a statement together with Germany, Italy, the UK, and the USA continuing to condemn the atrocities and abductions, but returning to “bothsidesism:”

All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

and drawing a distinction between Hamas and the “innocent” Gazans who cheered them, on both on Oct 7th and at each hostage exchange ceremony:

But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.

He repeatedly emphasized the need to distinguish between Hamas and the “innocent civilian” population but if the world imposes a Palestinian state on Israel, then Hamas does represent the aspirations of the Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians.

Macron condemned our attack on a hospital as if Hamas had not turned it into a legitimate military target by using it as a base.

On 29 Oct, a mere 22 days after the Hamas attack on Israel, Macron writes:

I reiterate my call for a humanitarian truce to protect the people of Gaza.
17 tonnes of humanitarian freight have arrived in Egypt from France. We are continuing our efforts by air and sea.
Together, in solidarity, alongside Egypt and the Red Crescent.

Not a word about the starved hostages. Not a word about how the Red Crescent should do their duty and ensure that the hostages, if not freed, at least are being held in humane conditions.

He later did upload photos of about three of the released hostages along with congratulatory notes and a condolence post to the family of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas.

This post, on 7 April this year, summarizes what he has been posting over the past year and a-half:

In the fall of 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel, we spoke with one voice alongside Egypt.
We are sparing no effort.
We condemn the resumption of Israeli strikes in Gaza and call for the release of all hostages and an immediate return to the ceasefire.
France strongly supports the reconstruction plan for Gaza and the goal of Palestinian governance led by the Palestinian Authority, excluding Hamas.
Peace requires politics. The conference on the two-state solution will be essential. It is time to build.

As if a Palestinian state without Hamas would have different goals than a Palestinian state with Hamas! As if the Oslo Accords and Israel’s total withdrawal from Gaza, leaving Gaza to operate as a de facto state, has not shown the folly of fantasizing Middle East peace and stability if only there would be a Palestinian state. As if everyone knows what is best for Israel and can bulldoze Israel whose government overwhelming voted last summer against the establishment of a Palestinian state on our indigenous homeland, the Land of Israel.

On 11 April, he posted:

Here is France’s position—it is clear: Yes to peace. Yes to Israel’s security. Yes to a Palestinian state without Hamas.

Macron keeps insisting Israel accept a ceasefire — as if there was no ceasefire in effect until 6:30 in the morning on Oct 7th. Why does he think a new ceasefire would be any different from the other ceasefires Hamas violated on and before 7 Oct 2023?

His last relevant post was a condolence note to Israel over the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgram (by a Hamas supporter when they attended an event to promote humanitarian aid to Gaza). Commenters derided Macron’s hypocrisy.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

I counted 38 relevant posts that Starmer posted on X. On Oct 7th, he wrote:

I utterly condemn the ongoing attacks on Israel and her citizens. There is no justification for this act of terror which is being perpetrated by those who seek to undermine any chance for future peace in the region. Israel has a right to defend herself.

On 11 Oct, he posted that the Labour Party and Britain stand with Israel and then, three days later, he issued a statement calling for Hamas to release the hostages immediately and for innocent Israeli and Gazan lives to be protected.

On 23 Oct, for the first time, Starmer seems to switch gears, writing that:

I made clear it is not and has never been my view that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines. International law must be followed.

As if international wartime law is not being followed. Politicians accuse Israel of not following the law but military experts, such as Richard Kemp, Andrew Fox, John Spencer, Nick Freitas, have clearly contradicted these claims.

Starmer’s posts consistently condemned the Hamas attack on Oct 7th. Furthermore, he wrote that nobody should mourn the death of Yahya Sinwar. However, he just as consistently orders Israel to work toward a ceasefire and to continue humanitarian aid to Gaza, emphasizing the “innocent” civilians, without regard to the fact that Hamas steals the aid for themselves and for profit and “innocent” civilians were part of the invasion, atrocities, and abductions.

For Starmer, the only solution is a political solution — i.e., the two-state-solution. (As if a Palestinian state would not have conducted a genocidal attack against Israel.)

His last relevant post was the uploading, on 20 May, of the joint statement presented in the introduction to this article.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney

While Carney was sworn in as PM only this past March, he has been a public figure since appointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. He served as advisor to Canada’s PM, Justin Trudeau and, therefore, should have had something to say about Hamas’ attack against Israel from the beginning.

As PM, Carney began posting on the subject on 5 Feb, with this:

President Trump’s proposed forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza is deeply disturbing. It would violate the rights of Palestinians and international law, and it would set back efforts to promote peace and security for all in the region.

I support the hard work of reaching a two-state solution, with a viable and free Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.

The priority must be the completion of the first phase of the ceasefire and massive support for Palestinian families in Gaza in rebuilding their homes and lives.

Nice of him to mention our hostages and our needs. He writes that the Palestinian state would live in peace and security, but not that Israel would have peace and security. Perhaps I am nitpicking, but given that he does not even mention the hostages still being starved in Gazan tunnels and held in inhumane conditions, I think I might be right in guessing that he does not care about Israel/Jews.

He does call for release of all the hostages after the murder of the Bibas’ and Oded Lifshitz, but the rest of his seven relevant posts concern Gazan welfare. His most recent post was the joint statement issued with the UK and France that you can see in the introduction to this article.

The earliest relevant post I could find for Carney from before he was PM was this one from 10 Nov 2023:

Quoting Elie Wiesel “I learned the perils of language and those of silence. I learned that in extreme situations where human lives and dignity are at stake, neutrality is a sin,” ⁦@BrianMulroney4 ⁩ captures the right response to current horrors

to which he, himself, responds thus in the first comment:

But that is a position that puts him as either a neutral or an accomplice to grave violations of international humanitarian law against civilians in Gaza presently. That seems to be a sin too but maybe we should just keep religion out of this).

What do you make of that?

And then I found nothing at all until after he took office as PM.

Former PM Justine Trudeau

Perhaps we should also have a look at what Trudeau wrote in the early days. I found it interesting that, while he condemned the Hamas attack, his first posts on X were to say he had spoken about the issue with UAE’s President Mohamed Bin Zayed, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and then with Israel’s PM Bibi Netanyahu, at 19:54, 20:39, and 23:33, respectively, on 8 Oct.

The next day, he posted:

To honour those whose lives have been cut short by Hamas’ terror attacks against Israel, we’re lighting the Peace Tower in blue and white – and we’ve lowered the flags on the Peace Tower, at the Prime Minister’s Office, and across Parliament Hill. Canada stands with Israel.

Commenters wondered why he did not condemn the pro-Hamas demonstrations in Canada nor called the terrorists terrorists. He seems to have corrected that oversight in the next few days’ posts.

Then he announced a $10-million humanitarian aid donation that he says will not go to Hamas.

By 14 Oct, he got around to speaking with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas:

I spoke with Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, today. I condemned Hamas’ attack against Israel, discussed the importance of protecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians, and stressed the need to ensure humanitarian access to Palestinian civilians.

Nothing about humanitarian access to hostages?

By 6 Dec, he raised the issue of the two-state-solution with Jordan’s king.

My impression from his myriad posts: he wavers between horror at the heartbreaking (his word) humanitarian situation for “innocent” Gazans, concern for the hostages (a bit, here and there), worry over the growing antisemitism in Canada (a little bit), expressing the importance of observing international law (over and over again), talking with all kinds of world leaders about the “situation in Gaza,” and the dire (his word) humanitarian crisis facing Gazans.

There you have it!

And now they are going to push for a Palestinian state. Macron is scheduled to hold a conference in Paris on 13 June before the UN Conference for Palestine five days later. If this goes through, Hamas will have accomplished a step toward its mission of wiping Israel from the map.