Starmer shuts down call for ban on arms sales to Israel: ‘A wrong position. I will not take it’

A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, making a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the situation in the Middle East, in the House of Commons in London on October 7, 2024 (JESSICA TAYLOR / UK PARLIAMENT / AFP)
A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, making a statement on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the situation in the Middle East, in the House of Commons in London on October 7, 2024 (JESSICA TAYLOR / UK PARLIAMENT / AFP)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday he would not ban all arms sales to Israel, bluntly shutting down a call in the British parliament for him to do so.

In a question on the anniversary of the October 7 onslaught by Hamas, MP Zarah Sultana asked if Starmer would “finally do what’s legally and morally right and end the government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets, not just 30 licenses.”

“No,” Starmer responded bluntly. “But it is a really serious point. Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes.”

“None for defensive purposes on the anniversary of October 7 and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel would be a wrong position for this government and I will not take it,” Starmer said.

In September, Britain said it would immediately suspend dozens of arms export licenses with Israel because there was a risk the equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, but said the decision did not amount to a blanket ban or an arms embargo.

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