UK Suspends Some Arms Sales to Israel

Britain announced on Monday that it would suspend the export of some weapons to Israel, a significant hardening of its position on Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza under a new Labour government.

The foreign secretary, David Lammy, announced the decision in parliament, saying it was based on a legal review that concluded there was a “clear risk” that the weapons could be used in a way that would breach humanitarian law. The suspension, he said, would affect 30 of 350 export licenses, including components for military aircraft.

“This is not a blanket ban,” Mr. Lammy said in the House of Commons. “This is not an arms embargo.”

Still, the decision further distances Britain from the United States, an ally with which it had moved almost in lock step since the war in Gaza began last October. The Biden administration has rejected calls to suspend arms shipments despite arguments that their use by Israel violated international law.

“The assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that, for certain U.K. arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit, or facilitate, a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” Mr. Lammy said.

Britain’s arms trade with Israel is nowhere near that of the United States, totaling about 42 million pounds, or $55 million, in 2022. In addition to parts for military aircraft, it sells assault rifles and explosive devices. Under a 10-year agreement reached in 2016, the United States provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel.

But the suspension marks a significant escalation in British pressure on Israel to curb civilian deaths in its campaign to root out Hamas militants in Gaza. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, including women and children, the Gazan health ministry said in August.