Ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace warns Israel against ‘killing rage’ in Gaza
Former defence secretary Ben Wallace has warned Israel risks losing its “legal” and “moral” authority if it continues with its “killing rage” in Gaza, as he appealed to all sides to pursue a two-state solution.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Wallace insisted he was not calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region, but for Israel to “stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack”.
If not, he said the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government could “fuel the conflict for another 50 years” and “radicalise Muslim youth across the globe”.
Asked about his article during a trip to Scotland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak it was “clear that too many civilian lives have been lost” and that “nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to”.
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Mr Netanyahu has been criticised over the country’s tactics against Hamas following the group’s terror attacks on 7 October, which Israel has said saw 1,200 people killed and 240 more taken hostage.
While Israel has been given support by some to defend itself, there has been growing concern over the impact on civilians in the Gaza Strip during its ground and air offensive.
Over the weekend, there was a shift in language from the UK government, with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron joining Germany in calling for a “sustainable ceasefire”, saying that “too many civilians have been killed”.
Mr Sunak echoed these remarks on Monday, saying he wanted the sustainable pause in fighting so “hostages are released, rockets stop being fired into Israel by Hamas and we continue to get more aid in”.
He also welcomed the decision by the Israeli government to open another crossing at Kerem Shalom, having spoken to Mr Netanyahu about it last week.
“The UK is playing a leading role in making sure that aid reaches those that desperately need it,” Mr Sunak added.
In his article, former Army officer Mr Wallace pointed to his experience during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, saying actions like internment showed “a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant”.
Ben Wallace served as the UK’s defence secretary between 2019 and 2023
He said he was “unequivocal” in his condemnation of Hamas, but while going after the organisation is “legitimate… obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not”.
Mr Wallace added: “We are entering a dangerous period now where Israel’s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions.
“It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.”
Pointing to Israel’s prime minister, he wrote: “I am sure that the shame Benjamin Netanyahu feels for not foreseeing the 7 October attacks is deep, especially for someone who presented himself as a security hawk and tough guy.
“But perhaps that shame is driving him to lose sight of the long term.
“Netanyahu’s mistake 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.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he was ‘proud to have prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state’
Mr Wallace also criticised Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, who in an interview with Sky News last week dismissed a two-state solution after the conflict ends.
“She is wrong,” he wrote. “There must be. It has been the answer ever since the creation of modern-day Israel.”
But he claimed that once the IDF had withdrawn from Gaza, moderate Palestinian voices calling for a two-state solution would face “extinction” and “international sympathy will have expired”, with Israel “forced to exist in an even greater state of siege” as Hamas would still exist.
The former minister added: “The path to peace, just like in Northern Ireland, means we have to keep trying and do all we can to marginalise the extremes.
“With the Oslo accords, we came close to realising a two-state solution. Now is the time to re-energise that process.”
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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