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According to a March 2026 report from the Policy Exchange think tank, the conflict with Iran is a pivotal factor for a significant segment of the British Muslim community, with findings indicating a strong focus on foreign policy issues regarding voting intentions.

 

According to a March 2026 report from the Policy Exchange think tank, the conflict with Iran is a pivotal factor for a significant segment of the British Muslim community, with findings indicating a strong focus on foreign policy issues regarding voting intentions. 

Key Findings Related to the Claim:

• A "Muslim Vote" Focus: The report highlights that a substantial number of British Muslims, particularly those engaged in the "The Muslim Vote" campaign, are shaping a voting bloc that prioritizes candidates who address issues like the conflict in Gaza and the war with Iran.
• Focus on Iran/Gaza: Research shows that for a segment of this group, solidarity with Palestine and the broader Middle East conflict—including the actions of Iran—is a unifying issue, influencing their voting behavior.
• High Engagement: While only a small percentage of the general public prioritizes foreign issues, polling indicates that over 80% of British Muslims are following the Iran conflict closely.
• Political Shift: The same context suggests that due to the perceived failure of mainstream parties to adequately address these concerns, many voters are shifting toward independent candidates or parties perceived as more aligned with their views on these conflicts. 

Contextual Factors:

• High Favourability: The poll found that 39% of British Muslims held a favorable view of Iran, compared to 8% for the wider public.
• Skepticism of Western Action: A significant portion of this community believes that air strikes against Iran are wrong, viewing them through the lens of solidarity with Palestine

 

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Israeli army chief says West Bank troops ‘killing like we haven’t killed since 1967’

 

Israeli army chief says West Bank troops ‘killing like we haven’t killed since 1967’

 

Leaked remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth describe fatal shootings of stone-throwers and different treatment for Jewish settlers

 

Julian Borger in Jerusalem

Tue 5 May 2026 18.08 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/05/israeli-army-chief-unequal-enforcement-palestinians-west-bank

 

The Israeli army chief in the West Bank has said his troops were “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967”, including fatally shooting Palestinian stone-throwers, according to an Israeli report of his comments.

 

The remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the army’s central command, were made in a recent closed forum but were leaked to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. Bluth has so far not denied the authenticity of the Haaretz account. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Bluth, who was born in a West Bank settlement and educated in a religious military academy in the occupied territory, spoke bluntly about the discriminatory military justice his soldiers administered.

 

He said they had shot 42 Palestinian stone-throwers on West Bank roads last year, insisting that such acts amounted to terrorism. Bluth said the army did not shoot Jewish settler militants for doing the same thing, noting that on one occasion when a settler throwing stones at motorists had been wounded by army gunfire, there was a public “ruckus”.

 

“Any such incident has very serious consequences from a societal perspective,” Bluth said, according to the reported remarks, openly admitting: “Yes, it involves discrimination.” Palestinians are subjected to military law in the West Bank and extended detention without trial, while Israelis are judged by civilian courts.

 

Bluth said another way he had loosened legal constraints on Israeli soldiers in the West Bank was to allow the maiming of Palestinians caught trying to cross the separation barrier into Israel in search of work.

 

“At the [separation barrier], it is currently permitted to detain a suspect by shooting him at the knee or below to create ‘barrier awareness’,” Bluth said, adding that it served as a deterrent.

 

“There are a lot of ‘limping monuments’ in Palestinian villages of those who tried to [cross the barrier], so there is a price being paid,” he said.

 

As with stone-throwers, Bluth justified his rules of engagement on the grounds that each illegal Palestinian worker was a “potential terrorist”. The general also portrayed his actions as part of a “survival of the fittest” struggle.

 

“If someone comes to kill you, kill them first is the norm in the Middle East, so we’re killing like we haven’t killed since 1967,” Bluth said, in reference to the war against Arab states that resulted in the permanent occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians were killed in the second intifada from 2000 to 2005.

 

“His apartheidist approach, under which the army shoots only Palestinian stone-throwers, not Jewish ones, was justified on the grounds of the ‘sociological consequences’ of shooting at the latter,” Haaretz said in an editorial, asking: “Did he take into account the ‘sociological consequences’ of these ‘lame monuments’ on the Palestinians?”

 

Since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the resulting war in Gaza, Israeli settlers have conducted an escalating campaign of violent intimidation of Palestinians in the West Bank with the aim of driving them off their land. In that campaign, they have routinely been abetted by the Israeli army, which is increasingly made up of soldiers and officers drawn from the settlements.

 

According to UN figures, 230 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers in 2025.

 

Bluth had sparked controversy a few days earlier with a warning, also reported in Haaretz, that “Jewish terror” carried out by extremists, known as “hilltop youth”, would ultimately trigger an uprising.

 

“These people don’t see Arabs as human beings and think it’s possible to burn people alive, to burn houses down with their occupants inside, and unfortunately, they do this frequently,” Bluth said, according to the Haaretz account.

 

The general said “it’s almost a miracle that the Palestinians are still indifferent” but added they “won’t remain indifferent indefinitely” and warned of the possibility of a West Bank uprising.

 

“Bluth has now revealed what everyone already knew: the Israel Defense Forces is working hand in hand with the settlers who are carrying out the daily pogroms,” Haaretz commented. “Bluth calls it Israeli terrorism, but not only does he not try to prevent it in the same way that the IDF prevents Palestinian terrorism, but he is actually abetting it.”