EBN- Britain decided to impose an arms embargo on 30 weapons export licences to Israel that UK authorities said might have been used to commit “serious violations” of international humanitarian law.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons that the evidence meant Britain had no choice but to impose the ban.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey tells the BBC the suspension of 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel “won’t have a material impact” on the country’s security.
He defends the timing of the move, saying it was “agonising” to hear six Israeli hostages had died in Gaza but adds the announcement – which came on the same day as their funerals – was driven by a “legal process.”
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls it “shameful” and says “Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
Former national security adviser Lord Peter Ricketts says the suspension is “long overdue” but it won’t change Israeli PM Netanyahu’s mind on the war.
The US is the biggest arms supplier to Israel and UK arms sales amount to 1% of the country’s defence imports.
Zarah Sultana MP said the UK government’s suspension of 30 out of 350 arms licences is “too limited”.
She stressed that the decision “appears to show the UK has finally accepted the clear and overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza”.
However, she added that “if the government is admitting that British weapons might be involved in breaking international laws, I don’t understand how it can justify the remaining 320 licences, including F35 fighter jets.”
She also said the jets “have been dropping 2,000 bombs on Palestinians for months, and these are described by their manufacturer as the most lethal fighter jets in the world.”
