Israel cannot forever 'live by the sword', with accountability needed for Gaza genocide
Sir Vincent Fean, career diplomat and former Consul General to Jerusalem (de facto ambassador to the Occupied Palestinian Territories) spoke to the Beacon about how to achieve peace in the middle east
Ten years ago, Israel’s Prime Minister, speaking on whether there could ever be peace with Palestinians, said Israel would “forever live by the sword”.
His quotes, at the time, were controversial.
Fast forward to 2026 and Israel has shown exactly what living by the sword can mean.
The horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7 resulted in the death of at least 1,200 people, with the majority of them civilians - the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, as reported by the Guardian.
A former British Consul General said Israel’s “retribution” to the war crime committed by Hamas has been “totally disproportionate”.
‘There is a better way to live… coexistence’
“Netanyahu says Israel will always live by the sword,” Sir Vincent Fean told me in an interview conducted online on 8 May.
“Just think about that for a minute.
“It means Israel will always be either on the defense or as now on the attack. There is a better way to live than that and it’s called coexistence.”
In September last year, it was reported that the International Association of Genocide Scholars saw that Israel’s conduct in Gaza “meets the legal definition as laid out in the UN convention on genocide”, reported by the BBC.
Sir Vincent agrees in calling it a genocide.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu and many others have voiced genocide, have incited genocide in Gaza and that’s broken through to the consciousness of people around the world,” he said.
“It’s why young people, I generalize slightly…know what’s right and what’s wrong and know that what Israel is doing is wrong.
“It’s why the international repute of Israel is at its lowest.
“There is a realisation that the occupation means oppression.
“It is not benign. It is malign.”
Not long after Israel’s actions were seen to be recognised as genocidal, the UK Prime Minister formally recognised Palestine as an official state.
Netanyahu’s response was to say a Palestinian state would “not happen”.
But the recognition from the UK was a start, Sir Vincent said, especially considering the UK’s “imperial past”.
“There is a particular responsibility for the UK…. [and] a moral responsibility to give a lead in Europe and the Commonwealth to a just outcome,” he said.
“Right now, that’s not on the cards.
“That’s not obvious because the current Israeli government is run by Jewish supremacists in the shape of Netanyahu, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and they are not interested in negotiation.
“They’re interested in suppression.”
Stop e1, uphold international law, ban settlement trade
There is more UK politicians could be doing now, Sir Vincent pointed out, including efforts to stop the E1 settlement, which he deemed “disastrous”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the E1 settlement would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.
In April, a group of former UK Ambassadors and high commissioners published a letter in the Guardian calling for the British Government to threaten action against any companies looking to help build the settlement.
As well as halting the planned development, Sir Vincent also called for the UK to ban settlement trade and uphold international law.
At the World Economic Forum summit earlier this year, Canada’s prime minister made an admission that the “rules-based international order was partially false” and the “strongest would exempt themselves when convenient”.
He also said international law was “applied with varied rigour, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim”.
“In the West Bank, we are seeing settler violence on an unprecedented scale… and without accountability,” Sir Vincent said.
“Without a means of holding those who commit crimes to account, they will continue, they will grow.
“The international community, I believe, has a responsibility to uphold international law.
“If we believe in international humanitarian law it needs teeth.”
Coalition of the willing for Palestine?
As Ukraine’s war with Russia continues, there has been the assembly of a “coalition of the willing” - countries that support Ukraine and punish Russia for its actions following its invasion.
Sir Vincent said, with 157 nations now recognising Palestine as a state, could there also be a coalition of the willing for Palestine.
“The problem is that while governments are thinking, Israel is acting by expanding settlements, by expelling Palestinians from the countryside in the West Bank, by maintaining… genocide in Gaza,” he said.
The former diplomat also said now is the time to make “reasonable proposals” as to what can be done to stop Israel’s actions in Palestine.
This included “transposing the sanctions that are imposed on Russia onto Israel with a warning that if they don’t change tack, that will happen”, while also “giving them time to change”.
“But at the moment, Prime Minister Netanyahu is proceeding with impunity.”
Sir Vincent said there needs to be a transposition of law from Ukraine to Gaza and the West Bank.
He pointed to the fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of people from the occupying power to the occupied land.
“Well, settlements do precisely that,” he said. “Consistency is what we need. Moral courage is what we need.”
A moral issue, not a partisan one
Looking for a solution is not partisan or a case of choosing sides, Sir Vincent was keen to point out.
“It’s a moral issue. It’s a bipartisan issue. It’s not an issue of being pro or anti-Palestinian, pro or anti-Israel,” he said.
“This is not about antisemitism. I condemn, and I know you do, the violence, the burning of ambulances in North London, the violence against members of our Jewish community here in the UK who have nothing to do with this.”
Sir Vincent also emphasised the need for a distinction between the Jewish community and wider Israeli community and the Israeli government and its actions.
“We must condemn, we must oppose, we must work with the police and the authorities to stop such crimes in the UK, but there is no difference between advocating that and advocating for equal rights for Palestinians where they live.”
What role does the international community play?
So what does the future look like for both Israel and Palestine?
Well the international community should play a role, but Palestinians deserve the right to self determination.
“Can we generate from the outside a coalition of the willing? Yes, but from the outside,” Sir Vincent said.
“I don’t think it’s our responsibility or duty to tell the Palestinians what to do.”
Sir Vincent rounded our interview off by saying for the conflict to end peacefully, there needs to be accountability for crimes committed by all sides.
He said he did not hold a candle for Hamas and acknowledged the group’s hideous attack was a war crime.
“What we need is a level playing field for that justice and it isn’t there today,” he said.
“I do believe that the best way forward for the interests of the Jewish people in Israel, as well as the Palestinian people in Palestine, is peaceful coexistence, negotiation.
“We’re a long way from that today and without intervention by the international community Israel will not change.”
