The UK will suspend 30 of its 350 arms exports licenses to Israel due to a “clear risk” that they could be used in breaches of international humanitarian law.
The UK will suspend 30 of its 350 arms exports licenses to Israel due to a “clear risk” that they could be used in breaches of international humanitarian law. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament on Monday that the UK government had concluded there to be a “clear risk” that weapons exported to Israel could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”Lammy added that the partial ban will include items “which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza” against Hamas but did not include parts for F-35 fighter jets, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. However, he said that the decision to suspend the licenses is not the same as a blanket ban or an arms embargo and said the UK will continue to support Israel’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law.The decision comes after the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network filed a legal challenge regarding the UK’s arms sales to Israel in December.
