UK Becomes First Israeli Ally to Suspend Substantial Arms Sales Over Potential War Crimes

The decision came down in a formal written announcement released from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy yesterday.

“[The] government announces immediate suspension of around 30 licenses for items used in the current conflict in Gaza which go to the IDF, from a total of approximately 350 licenses to Israel,” the statement read.

“UK assessment concludes there is a clear risk certain military exports to Israel might be used in violations of International Humanitarian Law,” it continued.

The change in policy is already being labeled as one of the most significant of newly elected UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s short time in office, both by those in agreement with what the UK just did as well as those who condemn the action.

According to the release, “On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel’s compliance with International Humanitarian Law and has travelled to Israel twice since being appointed to the role to understand the situation on the ground.”

Based on information gathered in those fact-finding missions and other data available to the UK from various sources, including foreign intelligence data, the government reached the difficult decision that it has no choice but to suspend shipments of arms previously provided to Israel in connection with the ongoing large-scale slaughter of at least 40,405 Palestinians killed to date in Gaza since this phase of the war began

“It is with regret that I inform the House today,” Foreign Secretary Lammy explained as part of the official government statement, “the assessment I have received finds that for certain UK arms exports to Israel there exists a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.”

The suspension is being carried out, Lammy said, “as required under the Export Controls frameworks”.

Israel continues to justify this as part of its right to defend itself after the October 7 attack. An estimated 1200 people died in the attack and Israeli military actions taken at the same scene to stop Hamas. Many of those 1200 who died are now believed to have been killed by Israel rather than Hamas, based on testimony by Israelis present during the Hamas raid. But even if all 1200 killings were by Hamas, this would mean Israel is defining its “right to defend itself” as allowing it to kill at a rate of over 30 times the human toll taken on October 7.

That does not even take account of the almost complete destruction of homes, offices, businesses, hospitals and other medical care facilities, basic infrastructure such as power and water, deliberate deniable of food and humanitarian assistance, and targeting journalists who might tell the true story of the war in Gaza.

Israel has also been found guilty of illegally occupying Gaza and the West Bank in a recent advisory opinion provided by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) and declared likely to be committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a separate ruling from the same court earlier this year.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) separately decided that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023”, in a ruling in May. The ICC plans to issue warrants for their arrest in connection with these crimes.

Both the ICC and the ICJ are courts whose rulings the United Kingdom is obliged to honor. It must do so for the ICJ because that is the highest court within the United Nations. It must do so for the ICC because the United Kingdom signed off in 1998 on the Rome Statute which authorized the creation of the ICC and bound the UK to honor its rulings.

To date, neither of the ICJ rulings nor the ICC war crimes decision had any effect on the UK’s unwavering support for Israel’s actions in Gaza. It was not until Keir Starmer replaced Rishi Sunak as that country’s Prime Minister that a hint of that was revealed.

According to the Foreign Secretary, the suspended shipments include “important components which go into military aircraft, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones as well as items which facilitate ground targeting, that would be used in Gaza.”

Specifically excluded from the military materiel suspension are items “not being used by the IDF in the current conflict (such as trainer aircraft or other naval equipment), and other, non-military items”.

One other big exception to Israeli war supply shipments which the UK says it will allow provides for the country to continue to provide “UK components for the multi-national F-35 joint strike fighter program”, except where those components might be shipped directly to Israel. Since Israel draws from that program directly for its war in Gaza under agreement with members to the program such as the United States, the U.K., and members of the European Union, this means Israel will still have access to this to continue its war in Gaza.

The country is now facing a backlash from around the globe for its decision to suspend the 30 Israeli military export licenses.

From within the UK, while Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh called the block on just 30 licenses “"too limited and riddled with loopholes".

“Today’s decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid - and possible genocide - by Israeli forces in Gaza," Deshmukh added.

From Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu called the UK decision to suspend some arms shipments to Israel “shameful” in a post he made on the social media platform X yesterday.

“Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas,” the prime minister went on.

“Israel is pursuing a just war with just means, taking unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law,” he continued.

“With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future,” Netanyahu added.

That last statement is an easy one for Israel to make. With the U.S. currently supplying roughly two-thirds of Israel’s military weapons and munitions, and only 1% of those supplies coming from the UK, Israel has little to worry about the United Kingdom suspending less than 10% of the military export licenses it had previously authorized.