‘Killing Rage’: Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace Slams Israeli Leaders In Telegraph Op-Ed

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace delivered a scathing critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military’s tactics in Gaza, warning that Israel’s “killing rage” risks undermining its moral and legal authority and could perpetuate conflict for decades.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Wallace, who remains a prominent Conservative MP, laid into the Israeli leadership and accused it of acting recklessly and exacerbating the crisis.

“Netanyahu’s mistake,” he wrote, “was to miss the attack in the first place. But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong. His methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years. His actions are radicalising Muslim youth across the globe.”

Wallace went on to contrast the current Israeli government with the more balanced strategies of past Israeli leaders: “Before anyone says I am calling for

a ceasefire with Hamas – I am not… What I am saying is Israel needs to stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack. And it needs to combat Hamas differently. Israel needs to recognise it has time on its side. It holds all the cards – from control of the air to control of the border.”

“It is easy to wonder what has happened to the wise Israeli politicians of old. They would have never missed the signs of the attack nor would they have surrendered to political blackmail from militant illegal settlers,” he continued. “But lack of wisdom in a new generation of Israel politicians has led them to a place where they act like a bull in a China shop – crashing from one crisis to another.”

Wallace, drawing on his experience with Northern Ireland, highlights the dangers of disproportionate state responses, suggesting they can inadvertently fuel radicalization and extend conflicts.

He also took the opportunity to lambast the UK Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely.

“The Israeli ambassador defiantly states there can be no two-state solution. She is wrong,” he wrote. “There must be. It has been the answer ever since the creation of modern-day Israel.”

Acknowledging the complexity of the conflict, while unequivocally condemning Hamas for its anti-Semitic and anti-democratic charter, Wallace emphasised the need for Israel to adhere to the Geneva Conventions.

The former defence secretary’s comments come amid increasing international concern over civilian casualties in Gaza. It also

follows a weekend in which Pope Francis accused Israel of “terrorism” following the killing of a mother and daughter taking refuge in a church. Israel denies it killed the two women. On Friday, IDF troops also impulsively killed three half stripped Israeli hostages who emerged from rubble holding up a white flag. The IDF said it believed they were Hamas.

Health officials in the Hamas-run territory report approximately 19,000 deaths since the Israeli offensive began, following a Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people. The rising civilian death toll prompted Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for a “sustainable ceasefire.”