UK Suspends Some Arms Shipments to Israel, Citing ‘Clear Risk’
The U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government announced the suspension of exports of certain weapons to Israel due to concerns that they might be used in violation of international humanitarian law amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Foreign Secretary David Lammy highlighted that there is a ”clear risk” associated with approximately 30 of the 350 existing export licenses for military equipment, including components for planes and drones. The decision is not a formal judgment on Israel’s actions, nor does it constitute an arms embargo.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed disappointment over this decision. The U.K. has historically been a close ally of Israel, but this move has significant symbolic weight, particularly amidst growing calls for accountability regarding Israel’s military actions.
The conflict reignited on October 7, 2023, following an attack by Hamas which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 Israelis, predominantly civilians. The U.K. government’s arms exports to Israel were relatively modest compared to other allies, totaling £42 million in 2022.
The suspension follows legal actions from Palestinian rights organizations urging the U.K. to halt arms exports to Israel. Starmer’s government has faced pressure to take a firmer stance on the Israel-Palestine issue, with Starmer previously restoring funding to Palestinian aid organizations and indicating less interventionist support compared to the prior Conservative government. Lammy, who has visited Israel recently, emphasizes a desire for an end to the conflict while remaining a supporter of Israel.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said Monday that it’s suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law, a move intended to increase pressure on Israel to bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the U.K. government had concluded there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 existing export licenses for equipment “that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza,” including parts for military planes, helicopters and drones, along with items used for ground targeting.
The decision wasn’t “a determination of innocence or guilt” about whether Israel had broken international law and wasn’t an arms embargo, he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on X: “Deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the U.K. Government on export licenses to Israel’s defense establishment.”
The United Kingdom is among a number of Israel’s longstanding allies.
The war broke out on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants and others stormed into Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 people hostage. Roughly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel compared to the U.S. and Germany. Earlier this year, the government said military exports to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022.
But the U.K. is one of Israel’s closest allies, so the decision carries some symbolic significance. The military affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 13 TV said that the move could become more serious if other allies follow suit.
The government move comes after two groups, Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network, filed a legal challenge aimed at forcing the U.K. to stop granting any licenses for arms exports to Israel. The case has yet to go to a full court hearing.
The U.K.’s center-left Labour government under Starmer, elected in July, has faced pressure from some of its own members and lawmakers to apply more pressure on Israel. In the election, the party lost several seats it had been expected to win to pro-Palestinian independents after Starmer initially refused to call for a cease-fire following Israel’s retaliation after Oct. 7.
In a departure from the stance of its Conservative predecessor, Starmer’s government said in July that the U.K. will not intervene in the International Criminal Court’s request for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Starmer also restored funding for U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, which had been suspended by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government in January.
Lammy, who has visited Israel twice in the past two months as part of Western efforts to push for a cease-fire, said that he was a Zionist and “friend of Israel” but wants the war to end.
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