LONDON — Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted Britain’s “shameful” decision to suspend the sale of some arms components used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced Monday that 30 licenses, including parts for fighter planes, helicopters and drones, would be put on hold immediately after a review concluded there is a real risk weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.
In a strongly-worded statement from the Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister’s team said Britain’s “shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens.”
And — drawing parallels with the U.K.’s Second World War fight against Nazi Germany — the Israeli government added: “Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
Standing by the move Tuesday morning, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said the U.K. had a duty “to tell the hardest truths” to its “closest friends,” and stressed that it remained committed to supporting Israel if it came under direct attack again.
“This is not a determination by the government that Israel has breached international humanitarian law,” he told Times Radio.
“It’s a conclusion, according to the rules that we have, that there’s a clear risk that some U.K. arms exports could be used in breaches of international law in that Gaza conflict. And that’s why the foreign secretary announced the decision to the Commons yesterday.”
Labour ‘abandoning Israel’
Britain has just over 350 export licenses with Israel. The U.K. has stressed that its shift does not amount to an arms embargo, but said the number of civilian deaths and the scale of destruction in the current Gaza conflict have caused great concern.
It’s the latest change to policy on the Middle East since Labour entered power in a July landslide victory. The government has restored funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and dropped its opposition to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
But Labour is facing a domestic backlash from some quarters, with Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday asking: “Why are Lammy and [Keir] Starmer abandoning Israel? Do they want Hamas to win?”
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the announcement “beggars belief” and “will serve to encourage our shared enemies.” He questioned the timing of the decision, which came “at the very moment when six hostages murdered in cold blood by cruel terrorists were being buried by their families.”
Helen Whateley, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s opposition Conservative Party, questioned whether it was “a sign of Labour giving into pressure from backbenches rather than necessarily doing the right thing.”
For some critics of the U.K.’s policy on the Gaza conflict, the government has not gone far enough. Notably, components for F-35 stealth fighter jets were absent from the suspension, amid concern about the knock-on effect on the defense supply chain.
Sacha Deshmukh, U.K. chief executive of campaign group Amnesty International said: “We need to see a complete halt — with no loopholes, including for components for F-35s supplied to the USA for onward export to the Israeli military — to all U.K. arms transfers to Israel.”
Netanyahu’s office vowed Tuesday: “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
Sam Blewett contributed reporting.