Britain says it is suspending some arms exports to Israel over risk of breaking international law

By The Associated Press on September 2, 2024.

LONDON (AP) – The British government says it is suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because there is a risk they could be used to break international law.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 export licenses to Israel, and was not an arms embargo.

“We do not take this decision lightly,” Lammy said.

Britain is among a number of Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the 11-month-old war in Gaza.

British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel. Earlier this year the government said military exports to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022.

The U.K.’s center-left Labour government, elected in July, has faced pressure from some of its own members and lawmakers to apply more pressure on Israel to stop the violence.

In a departure from the stance of its Conservative predecessor, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said in July that the U.K. will not intervene in the International Criminal Court’s request for an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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