U.K. Suspends Some Arms Sales to Israel
Britain’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, said there was a “clear risk”
some weapons might be used to commit “a serious violation of
international humanitarian law.”
Mark Landler
By Mark Landler
Reporting from London
Sept. 2, 2024, 12:48 p.m. ET
Britain announced on 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 Gaza 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,” Mr. 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 lock step since the war in Gaza began
last 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,” Mr. 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 Gazan health ministry said in August.
Mr. 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.
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 Gazan 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.
For Mr. 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 Mr. 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,” Mr. Gallant said in a
statement. “We remain committed to defending the State of Israel and her
people.”
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