For decades, Gaza has remained under siege, often described as an "open-air prison," not because Palestinians are criminals, but due to the torture and inhumane treatment inflicted upon them in the besieged enclave.

At worst, Palestinians face constant aggression from one of the world’s best-equipped and highly trained armed forces. More worryingly, the Israeli invading army's actions have received little notable condemnation in Western capitals that continue their unconditional support for Israel.

Imagine the scale of Israel’s unconstrained power, as its infamous Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly warns, "no one will stop us," entering the fourth month of Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

One can envision the untrammeled authority of the State of Israel over world politics, media and businesses, all supporting its atrocities against civilians under the pretext of Israel’s "right to defend," a notion not permissible for oppressed Palestinians.

Two years ago, my article titled "Israel’s Power on the Global Media, Reality or Illusion?" was published in Daily Sabah, summarizing why leading media organizations and journalists fear discussing Israeli policies, and those who challenged Israel’s position paid a heavy price.

Years on, the same trend persists as the "death toll rises to 119 since Oct. 7, 2023," exceeding the "number of reporters killed worldwide in 2021 and 2022." Regrettably, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has "soared past 25,000" with no sign of a halt in uninterrupted Israeli aggression.

Given the scale of Israel’s assault, even an Israeli historian and Holocaust scholar, Raz Segal, has branded Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza as "a textbook case of genocide."

Another leading Israeli Holocaust scholar, Omer Bartov, described Israeli belligerence as a "clear intention of ethnic cleansing" and warned of a "genocide in Gaza." As the ill-fated events unfold in the Gaza Strip, it is time to revisit Britain’s notorious role in the creation of the State of Israel and observe changes in the British political and public arena.

Israel-U.K. ties: Then and now

Several historians have recorded the momentous proceedings leading to the creation of Israel. Britain played a notorious role in the creation of Israel on "land that was already called Palestine."

Charles Glass disclosed in his essay titled "Balfour, Weizmann and the Creation of Israel" that, "Without Great Britain, there would not have been an Israel." Linah Alsaafin posed a question: "Did the British mandate pave the way for Israeli occupation?" Unfortunately, Palestine serves as Britain’s laboratory for testing its smart weapons.

Today, various films, documentaries, textbooks, periodicals and journal articles present documented evidence that Britain has buoyed the "Arab-Israeli conflict" since the creation of Israel.

Since then, notable changes have occurred in Britain’s political, media, public, trade unionists, academics and public bodies arena. For instance, Britain’s leading English daily, The Guardian, admitted "it has supported, celebrated and helped facilitate the Balfour Declaration" that "promising a homeland" for the Jewish people as one of its "worst errors of judgment over 200 years."

In the political spectrum, major political parties and politicians are divided over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially since Oct. 7. Following the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer’s "refusal to back calls for a cease-fire has led to resignations and calls to quit from some in his party."

Perhaps, Starmer, David Cameron, Rishi Sunak and many U.K. politicians knew what happened to Jeremy Corbyn and Sherry Blair after they raised genuine concerns over the treatment of Palestinians at the hands of Israelis. Both were punished and made examples for those who dared to challenge Israeli policies, reflecting the enormous influence of the Israeli lobby in Britain.

But since then, the time has changed. In Scotland, the First Minister Hamza Yousaf has become a proactive voice for the oppressed people in Gaza, urging the U.K. government to back cease-fire calls. Yousaf urged the U.K. government to back the cease-fire calls in Gaza and argued, "The U.K. doesn’t value the lives of Palestinians like Israelis."

Like many researchers, I can witness how the British public mood has considerably shifted in favor of Palestinians. Following the Gaza assault by Israeli forces, a record number of Brits have come out to protest against their government's support for Israel.

The categorical solidarity of British protestors, like their European counterparts, displays mounting public anger every passing day. The British public discontent lies with the government's quest for wars in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, surpassing its commitments to public developments.

Britain went to aid America in its illegal and infamous war on Iraq, using the pretext of "weapons of mass destruction," which later turned out to be misleading the public over an imaginary threat.

Today, once again, the British government is unwilling to accept public "rage," as it did in the past over the Iraq war. Relevantly, John Harris finds that two decades on, "memories of the Iraq war may have faded, but it shaped the diminished U.K. we know today."

Today, Sunak's unelected government has enough money to fund wars in Ukraine and Gaza that have nothing to do with millions of homeless and underprivileged people struggling to secure shelter and food.

The U.K. has committed 4.6 billion pounds ($5.86 billion) to Ukraine, while past wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost Britain’s taxpayers a total of 20 billion pounds. Notably, conflicts in Syria, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere in "19 countries" where the U.K. has deployed its special forces are costing taxpayers additional billions of pounds.

In 2022, the U.K. spent 55.5 billion pounds on defense, and this will double to 100 billion pounds by 2030. Given that the "U.K. hunger crisis includes 1.5 million people who go the whole day without food," while rough sleeping is at a record high, the government is still burning public money in illegal wars abroad.

In freezing winter, thousands of Brits can’t afford to warm their houses or buy quality food, and they must compromise other necessities because their government has abandoned human development and instead chose to wage wars and destruction in the name of "freedom."

Henceforth, Britain needs not to worry about radicalization and extremism in the coming years. Rather, the next big challenge for the forthcoming British government will be to uphold unconditional support for Israel and its nonstop funding of illegal and unnecessary wars worldwide.

It is the best time in the history of Britain to learn from Malcolm X, who said, "I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation..."

In sum, the message is simple and clear. Listen and respect public opinion, a big "No" to war and a huge "Yes" to peace.