‘Chasing Dollars’: Rishi Sunak Under Scrutiny For Rejecting Gaza Ceasefire

Rabat – As Israel ramps up its bloody, criminal ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza, pro-Palestine protesters and independent commentators in the UK have questioned the country’s prime minister’s rejection of a much-needed humanitarian ceasefire that would save countless lives.

The questions come as British PM Rishi Sunak continues to dismiss calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and instead pledges unwavering support to Israel’s “right to defend itself against terrorist attacks.”

Refusing to understand the background of Palestinians’ decades-long oppression by Israel and ignoring red flags by the UN and NGOs regarding the unfolding genocide in Gaza, Sunak has instead reiterated his support for Israel and its right to “self-defense.”

The British PM has even fired a government aid for demanding a “permanent” ceasefire amid Israel’s merciless shelling of civilian infrastructure and residential areas in Gaza.

“Paul Bristow has been asked to leave his post in government following comments that were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility,” a Downing Street spokesperson said following the official’s sacking by Sunak.

The persistence of the UK’s government in rejecting a ceasefire has put Sunak under the radar of critics, with many in the media and on social media slamming him for his government’s unstinting support of Israel and moral bankruptcy amid the unfolding genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“Horror at the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas. A commitment to stand with Israel and a reaffirmation of its right to defend itself and to retrieve its hostages. An acknowledgment that the Palestinians are also victims of Hamas,” the Guardian’s parliamentary sketch writer wrote on October 23. “Their need for humanitarian aid and for Israel to respond within international law. Hard to argue with any of that.”

In particular, the author was harshly critical of the British Prime Minister, pointing out that Rishi Sunak had avoided answering questions about the cease-fire, while at the same time making an effort to portray himself as a global statesman.

“Where the script diverged slightly was in Rishi’s attempts to put himself centre stage. The tetchy school prefect sends himself out to cosplay the global statesman,” the Guardian article added.

Many, including netizens, have been looking for answers to explore why the British PM would disagree with a ceasefire, undertaking efforts to also know more about his family background in the search for reasons behind his cabinet’s blatant complicity in the war crimes being perpetrated on a daily basis by Israel against the Palestinian people. .

Some have suggested that one of the reasons could be the financial interests of Sunak’s family, recalling Israel’s October 30 decision to award gas exploration licences to two companies, including BP, a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London.

The announcement came amid Israeli shelling against Gaza.

Months before the Israeli announcement, news reports in May reported on Infosys, an Indian IT firm owned by Rishi Sunak’s in-laws, which signed a $1.5 billion deal with BP in May.

Infosys is a large technology company co-founded by Sunak father in law.

News outlet the National said on August 2 that “just two months before Rishi Sunak opened hundreds of new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea, an IT firm founded by his father-in-law signed a $1.5 billion deal with energy giant BP.”

This comes amid criticism from many, including opposition parties and climate change petitioners, who opposed his announcement of 100 new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

Sunak’s support for gas drilling also caught the attention of many netizens, who directly accused him of prioritizing his family’s financial interest over peace.

“UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has Palestinian blood on his hands,” one commentator said on X, previously known as Twitter.

“Turns out Rishi’s wife is getting MEGA rich off this war. Her dad is co-founder of Infosys. Zionists just awarded gas exploration licences to several gas companies, one of them was BP. Rishi’s wife just signed a deal worth 1.5 billion dollars with BP via her company infosys, because BP was awarded a licence by Israel,” the commentator added.

Many are reposting the same information, stressing that reason is enough for Suna to “never” ask for a ceasefire. “A conflict of interest. Sunak must resign,” one X user said.

This is not the first time Sunak has been linked to conflicts of interest. In October, the Guardian said that “Rishi Sunak’s controversial fund” to support startups during the COVID-19 epidemic invested nearly “£2m in companies linked to his wife.”

The Future Fund offered a £250,000 investment to Carousel Ventures, a company part-owned by the venture capital firm of Sunak’s wife.

“It is the fourth business linked to [Rishi’s wife Akshat] Murty revealed to have received an investment from the fund set up by Sunak to support startups when he was chancellor during the Covid pandemic,” the Guardian added.

This prompted concerns, with the Labour Party, calling for a watchdog to investigate whether Sunak declared that companies co-owned by his wife were offered £2m through his government scheme to help startups during the pandemic.