The British government suspended some arms sales to the Israel Defense Forces on Monday, claiming there is a “clear risk” the weapons could be used by the Jewish state’s military to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed lawmakers that London would cancel 30 out of 350 licenses, banning the export of aircraft, drones, helicopters and ground targeting equipment.
“It is with regret that I inform the House today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain U.K. arms exports to Israel,” he told the House of Commons.
“There does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” London’s top diplomat added.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday night he was “deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the U.K. Government on export licenses to Israel’s defense establishment.”
“This comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts—a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked. At a time when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.
“I stand by our troops and security agencies working with immense courage, professionalism and moral values. We remain committed to defending the State of Israel and her people,” he added.
Last month, the British Department for Business and Trade froze all weapons export licenses to the IDF pending a government review.
Sources in Jerusalem told Israel Hayom that while officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry were engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomacy to avert an arms embargo, these efforts had been unsuccessful.
The move is viewed as a direct extension of the Labour government’s reported decision to abandon an effort to challenge the International Criminal Court over attempts to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The previous government, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, joined Israel in fighting ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan after he applied to have the court issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes.
Lammy said on July 6 that he would seek a “balanced position” on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“I hope, too, that we see a ceasefire soon, and we bring an alleviation to the suffering and the intolerable loss of life that we’re now seeing also in Gaza,” he said during a visit to Jerusalem on July 15.
At least 14 British nationals were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border terrorist attacks, according to the BBC. Several others were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists during the invasion.
