Britain’s complicity with Israel in Lebanon and the West Bank | Letters

Alexandra Lucas asks what has to happen for our government to act, rather than simply condemn Benjamin Netanyahu, while John Deards notes Alan Bennett’s prescience on Donald Trump You report that Donald Trump asked Benjamin Netanyahu to be more “low-key” in Lebanon (Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire in Lebanon as Israel launches fresh strikes, 9 April). As someone who is Palestinian Lebanese, I know exactly what that means. The West Bank is low-key. The world isn’t watching, so the killing and dispossession continues – door to door, quietly enough that most people won’t realise until Israel has taken the whole of the West Bank. Lebanon is different. Three hundred people killed in 10 minutes is hard to ignore. So the message from Washington is simply: not like that. Keep it quiet. Take the land. Just don’t let people notice. Britain’s response is condemnation. But words are not enough. We remain complicit for as long as Britain continues to grant Israel preferential trade terms and supply components for the warplanes and weapons systems being used in these strikes. What has to happen before our government acts – rather than simply condemns?Alexandra LucasLondon