UK freezes further arms exports to Israel

The UK has suspended arms sales to Israel, saying there is a “clear risk” that the equipment could be used to violate international law.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would be suspending 30 of 350 arms licenses to Israel.

Affected equipment includes parts of military aircraft, helicopters and drones.

Mr Lammy said the UK continued to support Israel’s right to self-defence, and this did not mean an arms embargo.

Speaking to Radio 4, Israel’s information minister, Amichai Chikli, called the suspension a “disappointing decision” and said it sent “the wrong message”.

“I think we need to fight terrorism together,” he told the World Tonight program. “Fighting Isis [the Islamic State group]and al-Qaeda and Hamas, a parallel war between Western civilization and radical Islam.

“The threat from Hamas is the internal threat you face on the streets of the UK.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in response to the decision that Israel acted in accordance with international law.

Writing on social media, the chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said the move was “beggaring belief” and “teaching the lie that Israel is violating International Humanitarian Law”.

“Sadly, this announcement will encourage our common enemies,” he added.

Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said the restrictions were “too limited and full of loopholes”.

“Today’s decision means that while ministers accept that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza, [the government] yet it continues to be at risk of being complicit in war crimes, discrimination – and genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” he said.

Western governments have been under increasing pressure to freeze arms sales to Israel over its handling of the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The foreign secretary said many MPs, lawyers and international organizations have expressed concern about the granting of a British arms license to Israel.

He immediately called for a review of British arms exports to Israel after the Labor government took power in July, Mr Lammy said.

He said the review did not and “could not arbitrate whether or not Israel violated international humanitarian law” – and this was “not a determination of innocence or guilt”.

But he said the government has a legal duty to review all export licenses.

Mr Lammy said: “The assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that in other UK arms shipments to Israel, there is a clear risk that they could be used to make or break international humanitarian law.”

He said the partial ban included items “that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza”.

In the written text summary of its decisionthe government cited Israel’s approach to aid to Gaza and the treatment of prisoners as key factors in its decision.

It did not explain how the suspended licenses would affect these concerns.

But UK-made parts for the F35 fighter jets that Israel uses for airstrikes in Gaza will not be included in the UK ban because the planes are built as part of a global programme.

The decision is more political than military – UK arms sales to Israel are small, just 1% of the country’s defense assets.

The US is Israel’s largest arms supplier, accounting for 69% of its major conventional weapons purchases between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

But it is surprising that one of Israel’s closest allies has decided that there is a clear risk that the country could use some of its weapons exports to violate international humanitarian law.

The announcement may not come as a surprise to the Israeli government – it has been flagged for some time – but it will still hurt.

Discussions about stopping arms sales began under the last Conservative government but came to an end under the new Labor administration.

Labor said it had not changed its stance in support of Israel’s security measures, which it described as “strong” and “intolerant”.

But this is the third time since Labor took power in July that they have deviated from the previous government’s path.

Two weeks into government, Labor announced that it would resume UNRWA fundingthe UN agency for Palestine refugees following a review of alleged contacts between its staff and terrorist groups.

Days later Labor announced that it was reject plans to challenge the right of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Labor government has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the release of all hostages and an increase in aid to the people of Gaza.

Some backbench Labor MPs have been urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to go ahead and ban British arms sales to Israel altogether.

Labor lost many of its former strongholds to independent candidates who campaigned on pro-Palestinian platforms in the general election.

Currently, critics of the government say that the suspension has not reached the appropriate level.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran said her party would “carefully consider” the details of the announcement, “including those export licenses the government has suspended”.

“We are concerned that this decision was made only at the risk of using it in Gaza and not in the West Bank,” he added.

Green MP Ellie Chowns asked why so many licenses were exempted from the suspension.

“I am very concerned that the government is not consistently applying the principle that there is a clear risk that UK-licensed weapons will be used to breach international humanitarian law,” she said.

But Conservative MPs – including shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell – criticized the decision.

Mr Mitchell said the move “has the appearance of something designed to satisfy the Labor backbenchers, while at the same time not offending Israel, a friend in the Middle East.”

“I fear it will fail on both counts,” he added.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade says that since 2008, the UK has licensed arms exports to Israel worth a total of £574m ($727m).

A study by the Parliament shows the number of licenses granted falling from £42m in 2022 to £18.2m in 2023.