LONDON — Boris Johnson accused Britain’s new Labour government of “abandoning” Israel after the U.K. suspended the sale of some arms components used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced Monday that 30 licenses, including parts for fighter planes, helicopters and drones, would be put on hold immediately after a review concluded there is a real risk weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.
“Hamas is still holding many innocent Jewish hostages while Israel tries to prevent a repeat of the 7th October massacre,” Johnson, the former prime minister, wrote Tuesday on X. “Why are Lammy and [Keir] Starmer abandoning Israel? Do they want Hamas to win?”
Johnson has been a long-standing ally of Israel, calling any consideration to end arms sales “insane” and “shameful” earlier this year.
Britain has just over 350 export licenses with Israel. The U.K. has stressed that its move does not amount to an arms embargo, but said the number of civilian deaths and the scale of destruction in the current Gaza conflict have caused great concern.
The move has been sharply criticized by Israel, however. The country’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he was “deeply disheartened” by the curbs, while Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision “sends a very problematic message” to Hamas and Iran.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the announcement “beggars belief” and “will serve to encourage our shared enemies.” He questioned the timing of the decision, which came “at the very moment when six hostages murdered in cold blood by cruel terrorists were being buried by their families.”
Helen Whateley, a spokesperson for the opposition Conservative Party, questioned whether it was “a sign of Labour giving into pressure from backbenches rather than necessarily doing the right thing.”
‘Clear risk’
Standing by the move Tuesday morning, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said the U.K. had a duty “to tell the hardest truths” to its “closest friends,” and stressed that it remained committed to supporting Israel if it came under direct attack again.
“This is not a determination by the government that Israel has breached international humanitarian law,” he told Times Radio.
“It’s a conclusion, according to the rules that we have, that there’s a clear risk that some U.K. arms exports could be used in breaches of international law in that Gaza conflict. And that’s why the foreign secretary announced the decision to the Commons yesterday.”
The move is the latest change to policy on the Middle East since Labour entered power in a July landslide victory. The government has restored funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, and dropped its opposition to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Monday’s announcement has not gone far enough for some critics of the U.K.’s policy on the Gaza conflict.
Notably, components for F-35 stealth fighter jets were absent from the suspension. “The government needs to ban all arms sales,” said suspended Labour MP Zarah Sultana.
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