US said to have warned UK its weapons restrictions to Israel may impact hostage talks
Unnamed UK minister tells newspaper there must be a review of other arms exports, including to Saudi Arabia, ‘otherwise it just looks like we’re picking out the one Jewish state’
The US has privately warned Britain against suspending some arms sales to Israel, amid concerns it could damage attempts to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza war against Hamas, a senior British government source told UK’s The Times newspaper.
In response to the Tuesday report, Britain’s Foreign Office said it does not recognize this “characterization” of the talks with the US.
US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington respected the UK’s decision, but that it “is not going to make an assessment under the UK standard. We will make our determination based on US law.”
On Monday, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that 30 out of 350 arms export licenses were being suspended amid concerns the equipment could be used for human rights violations in Gaza, while insisting it was not a blanket embargo.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move “shameful” and a “misguided decision,” and warned that it would “embolden” Hamas.
There was also criticism of the decision from UK government ministers, The Times reported.
“The US will find the intervention unhelpful, the pro-Palestine MPs think it won’t go far enough and the Israel supporters think it’s bonkers. By trying to please all sides, they’ve ended up pissing off everyone,” one unnamed minister told the newspaper.
Another reportedly called for reviewing arms exports to other places, including Saudi Arabia, and cautioned, “Otherwise it just looks like we’re picking out the one Jewish state.”
Downing Street has defended the move, saying its support for Israel is “unshakeable” but that it had a “duty to follow the law,” The Times reported.
British exports amount to less than one percent of the total arms Israel receives, and Lammy told parliament on Monday that the suspension would not have a material impact on Israel’s security.
The export licenses pertain to components for Israel’s aerial systems, including fighter jets, helicopters, and drones. It does not pertain to the F-35 program, which is a multinational project that pools parts before disbursing them to participating countries, including Israel.
Lammy’s Labour Party instituted a review of the licenses after it returned to power in July, and Lammy has visited Israel twice since assuming office.
British officials have not said that Israel is violating humanitarian law, but believe there is a serious risk, according to the two-month assessment.
The suspension could be lifted in the future if the UK assesses that the risk of violations has diminished.
War erupted on October 7 when Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 people who were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas, topple its Gaza regime, and rescue the hostages.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 40,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Agencies contributed to this report.
