Starmer decides Gaza will be rebuilt according to the arms firms that helped destroy it

Gaza will be rebuilt according to the whims of global arms firms that helped destroy, it seems. UK PM Keir Starmer, whose government has actively supported the genocide, announced plans for the future of the ruined enclave Sunday.

Starmer said that the UK would contribute £20mn. He claims this will:

ensure water, sanitation and hygiene services reach tens of thousands of civilians across Gaza.

The UK government press release said:

reconstruction will be Palestinian-led, with absolutely no role for Hamas in its future governance.

So who will have a role?

Starmer’s rogues gallery for Gaza

Starmer also announced a three-day summit was underway in the UK. It includes a real rogue’s gallery of who WILL be involved.

And that list doesn’t look all that Palestinian. Excepting the Israeli-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) which functions as a sort of prison guard service on behalf of Israel.

The government said:

The UK Wilton Park summit will bring together a coalition of representatives from businesses, civil society and governments, to convene crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza.

Discussions will also cover efforts to support the Palestinian Authority’s own transformation and reform programme to ensure it can support Gaza’s recovery.

But what kind of businesses?

Wilton Park summit

The Wilton Park organisation describes itself as:

an Executive Agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

A deeper look reveals Wilton park is deeply entangled with the same global arms firms which helped destroy Gaza.

Wilton Park has what it called a Global Impact Group which it describes as a:

…unique, cross-sector, membership initiative designed to provide opportunities for input into international policy discussions.

The Impact Group brings “together policy leads” from across sectors “to share best practice, explore common approaches and to make policy recommendations”.

Among the Impact Group membership you’ll find friendly local arms firms like Lockheed, BAE Systems, Airbus and Rolls Royce. It also includes Meta (formerly Facebook) and British Petroleum (BP). Adam Smith International, the global wing of the neoliberal Adam Smith Institute, is also a member.

Genocide complicity

There are numerous examples of the ways in which these firms support the Israeli military.

Meta has been heavily criticised for blocking Palestinian news sources during the genocide. BAE supplies artillery and missile launch kits. Lockheed supplies Hellfire Missiles. Airbus has previously signed deals with the Israeli military to lease drones to Germany. Rolls Royce is involved in F-35 fighter jet production.

In 2024, Palestinians launched a legal action against BP for supplying oil to Israel. The International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said that BP had demonstrated:

…a clear failure to adhere to its own human rights policies and international law.

By facilitating the transport of oil that fuels military operations in Gaza, BP has contributed to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the region. Our clients seek justice for the profound suffering and loss they have endured and call on BP to act responsibly by immediately halting its involvement.

The truth is Gaza lays in ruins as a result of Israeli military violence. But that level of violence which was only politically and materially possible because of the UK and others.

There have to be serious questions about whether arms firms, an oil giant, a big tech firm and a neoliberal thinktank should get a say in what comes next.

In another age, this kind of activity would be captured in a single word: colonialism.

Featured image via the Canary