Alwaght- It is no secret that the Israeli regime works in dubious ways. A system that disregards fundamental human rights will certainly be engaged in immoral political conduct and an embassy that represents an illegal occupation regime will unlikely uphold the laws of the country it is meant to establish relations with.
The commotion that followed the release of a video by an Al-Jazeera investigative journalist showing Shai Masot— a senior officer at the Israeli embassy in London— in an undercover plot to “take down” MPs, is a predictable consequence of such a move. However, the Israeli official’s attempt to target pro-Palestinian MPs, including foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan, a supporter of a Palestinian state, may have been an unusual breach of diplomatic protocol, but it was not a surprise coming from the Israeli regime.
The al-Jazeera investigation also unraveled that lobbyists are offering financial and strategic assistance to student, activists and parliamentary groups in the UK in order to shape British politics.
Inarguably, this pertains to the Palestinian issue specifically as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement surges in the UK, and as the opposition Labour Party is led by Jeremy Corbyn, a vocal supporter of Palestinians.
This strategy, however, extends beyond the borders of the UK.
In the United States, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is believed to be one of the most prominent governmental lobbying organization on behalf of the Israeli regime. AIPAC actually writes legislation for members of Congress which are typically endorsed. $2-3 million are spent each year in lobbying Congress. Through AIPAC and other lobby groups, the Zionists have paved their way into American decision-making center.
One example of the far-reaching influence of the Israeli lobby on politicians is US President Donald Trump’s retraction of a statement he had made while campaigning. Having claimed that he would be “neutral” when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, it did not take long for Trump to modify his stance and express support for illegal settlement expansion as well as reject the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Furthermore, House representatives passed a resolution earlier this month denouncing the Obama administration’s abstention from a UN vote condemning illegal Israeli settlements. Clearly, lawmakers of both the Republican and Democratic Parties were influenced by Israeli lobbyists who are keen on having American policies go their way.
However, in other states where lobby organizations are not so overtly accepted, the Israelis have been and continue to covertly conspire against supporters of the Palestinian cause—or at least attempt to do so—across the world.
The European Union, for its part, has managed to criticize the Israeli regime for demolishing Palestinians homes in the occupied territories. However, it has refrained from taking consequential action against Tel Aviv as the Israeli lobby continues to shadow its policies.
Anthony Hall, editor-in-chief of the American Herald Tribune from Alberta, told Press TV that the European states have been under the influence of the Zionist lobby to go along with the Israeli interests and abstain from defending Palestinians’ rights.
“Every government within the EU has a very strong Israeli lobby and this is one of the dilemmas that the Western people are facing,” Hall said Press TV.
“Not only the governing parties but the opposition parties as well are constraining discussion and discourse within a very narrow range that puts Israeli priorities at the top of the list in all our Western countries,” he added.
Israeli lobbyists have been known to exert pressure on policymakers to fulfill the ends of the Israeli regime. The recent scandal in the UK proves that the Israelis adopt immoral means to reach their immoral ends. Only once they are exposed, do they attempt to repair the damage they have done to their relations with Western states. More importantly, the Israeli lobby has operatives working overtly and covertly to push forward their interests and sabotage any kind of support for the Palestinians.
