British Jewish groups, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rabbi, have written to the British government condemning it for suspending around one in ten arms export licences allowing British companies to sell equipment to Israel.
The British government, a new left-wing government just two months old and which suffered in part from pro-Palestinian candidates eroding its support base in July's elections, has announced it will suspend a range of arms export licences to Israel. Labour leaders insist this is not a political decision, but leading critics have accused Britain of taking a cold shoulder to Israel and potentially emboldening Hamas at such a critical time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a “shameful decision,” noting that many of those killed in the Hamas attack on October 7 were British and that the terror group is still holding five more British hostages. “Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy, in defending itself against barbarism, Britain's misguided decision will only embolden Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
British Jews, including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, also spoke out against the government's decision, telling the government: “Israel faces threats from Iran and its proxies not only to its own people but to all of us in Western democracies. This announcement reinforces the falsehood that Israel is violating international humanitarian law, when in fact Israel is making extraordinary efforts to comply with international humanitarian law.”
Left-wing UK government suspends dozens of arms export licences to Israelhttps://t.co/l9a4JLc0SL
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 2, 2024
“Unfortunately, this announcement will embolden our common enemies… The UK and Israel have much to gain by standing together against our common enemies for a safer world.” Reports Jewish News.
The Committee of British Jews said it had conveyed its “deep concerns” to the government, saying that Britain's decision to halt arms sales to terrorists on the very day they committed their atrocities would send a “dangerous message” to Hamas. Phil Rosenberg, the committee's chairman, went on to say on BBC radio today: “On the day that all these fine people are buried after being kidnapped from music festivals like Reading and Glastonbury, the UK has decided to signal that it is Israel that it wants to punish. This is a very frightening message to Israel at a time when it is in dire straits, and also to Hamas.”
The British government has defended its actions, saying they are purely a matter of international law and that it is not trying to take sides in the conflict. British Defense Secretary John Healey today defended the action, saying “we were committed to the rule of law,” and revealed that he had called Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to break the news before making it public.
“The calls are unwelcome,” Gallant said, asserting that it was simply a matter of tough love for Israel, arguing that “sometimes it is our closest friends who have to tell us the harshest truths.”
Pictured: A major arms factory blocked by Palestinian protesters https://t.co/hIYBlzvVaj
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 10, 2023
Previously, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK had a “legal obligation to review export licences” in response to the decision to suspend 30 of 350 arms export licences to Israel, including British parts for military drones, helicopters and aircraft, including fighter jets used by Israel.
He said the assessment “allows us to conclude nothing other than that certain arms exports from the UK to Israel present a clear risk of committing or contributing to serious breaches of international humanitarian law.”
Britain's national broadcaster BBC called the government's stance a “tightrope walk” that tries to appease everyone but “satisfies no one.” Hardline pro-Palestinian Islamic sectarianism has recently emerged in British politics, exerting its influence in this year's election and denying senior Labour members seats and positions in the new government. Labour has long considered these voters its own base, and there are concerns they are being siphoned off by far-left candidates from outside the party.
Just yesterday, an “Independence Alliance” of pro-Gaza politicians was launched in the British Parliament, saying in a statement: “Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war. Their voices deserve to be heard.”
Since the 7 October attacks, stopping British arms and equipment exports to Israel has become an urgent priority for the far-left, which has led to a number of protests and direct actions against British arms manufacturers in recent months. In November, a large aviation electronics factory run by BAE Systems was blockaded by activists from the Palestine Freedom Workers, who claim that Israel is a “terrorist state”. The factory is believed to contribute to the F-35 project.
In June, activists protested at a factory in Glasgow, Scotland. Court hearing They caused more than £1 million of damage to the side. Sheriff John McCormick said the activists “entered the building through the roof and caused damage including to vital parts of the submarine”.
In another action in June, Palestine Action activists broke into an arms factory in Kent, England, Destroyed the factory floor with a crowbarIn August, police officers were beaten with sledgehammers when activists armed with axes, whips and other weapons stormed another arms factory in Bristol, again vandalising it with a prison van.
