UK suspends some arms sales to Israel

LONDON — Britain announced Monday that it would suspend the export of some weapons to Israel, a significant hardening of its position on Israel’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip under a new Labour government.

The foreign secretary, David Lammy, announced the decision in Parliament, saying it was based on a legal review that concluded there was a “clear risk” that the weapons could be used in a way that would breach humanitarian law. The suspension, he said, would affect 30 of 350 export licenses, including components for military aircraft.

“This is not a blanket ban,” Lammy said in the House of Commons. “This is not an arms embargo.”

Still, the decision further distances Britain from the United States, an ally with which it had moved almost in lockstep since the war in Gaza began in October. The Biden administration has rejected calls to suspend arms shipments despite arguments that their use by Israel violated international law.

“The assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that, for certain U.K. arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit, or facilitate, a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” Lammy said.

Britain’s arms trade with Israel is nowhere near that of the United States, totaling about 42 million pounds, or $55 million, in 2022. In addition to parts for military aircraft, it sells assault rifles and explosive devices. Under a 10-year agreement reached in 2016, the United States provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel.

But the suspension marks a significant escalation in British pressure on Israel to curb civilian deaths in its campaign to root out Hamas militants in Gaza. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, including women and children, the Gaza health ministry said in August.

Lammy said he and his predecessor as foreign secretary, David Cameron, had “repeatedly and forcefully” raised concerns about Israel’s conduct of the war and the need for better delivery of aid with senior Israel officials. “Regrettably,” he said, “they have not been addressed satisfactorily.”

The Labour government has proved more receptive than its predecessor to arguments that Israel’s conduct of the war could violate humanitarian law. In late July, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dropped the previous government’s objections to the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s pursuit of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Britain also restarted funding for the main United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, UNRWA, having concluded that the agency had taken steps to ensure that it meets “the highest standards of neutrality.” The Israeli government had accused a dozen of the agency’s employees of playing a role in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel or their aftermath.

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The British government had come under growing pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel. In April, after a strike on a convoy in Gaza killed seven aid workers, including three Britons, more than 600 lawyers and retired judges sent a letter to the government, arguing that the sales violated international law.

Citing the risk of famine among Palestinians, a looming Israeli military assault on the Gaza city of Rafah and a finding by the U.N.’s top court that there was a “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza, the lawyers urged the prime minister at the time, Rishi Sunak, to “suspend the provision of weapons and weapons systems” to Israel.

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For Starmer, the announcement of a limited suspension may help calm the waters in his party, which has been divided by the war. Critics on the left expressed frustration with Starmer’s reluctance before the general election in July to take a tougher stance on Israel.

“Seems to be Starmer was looking to make a point to maintain coherence within the party without trying to make too big of a difference,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said he was “deeply disheartened” by Britain’s decision and lamented that it came days after six hostages were killed in Gaza and as Israel is fighting on multiple fronts, including against the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

“I stand by our troops and security agencies working with immense courage, professionalism and moral values,” Gallant said in a statement. “We remain committed to defending the state of Israel and her people.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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