The United Kingdom is evaluating its continued sale of arms to Israel, United Kingdom Secretary of State David Lammy told parliament on Tuesday amid reports that his newly installed Labour government planned to halt such sales.
Israel has been concerned that the United Kingdom would indeed take such a step, or that it would at the very least constrain such sales.
“As soon as I came into office, I commissioned new advice on Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law in the context of the war in Gaza,” Lammy stated.
“We are obliged to look at that advice under Criterion 2C for items exported. This is an ongoing process. I pledge to update the house as soon as I can on this very, very serious matter,” Lammy stated.
That section 2C speaks of a clear risk of breach of international humanitarian law,” Lammy stated.
“Careful assessments have to be made,” Lammy said, adding that there is then a legal process to enable me to meet that conclusion, and of course, with all sobriety and integrity, I intend to do that and update the house as soon as I can.”
The past British Conservative government had also stated that all military sales to Israel were under review to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.
Former foreign secretary David Cameron had told the British parliament in May that the UK provides less than 1% of Israel’s weapons and “is not a state supplier.” He explained that his Conservative-led government had believed that halting arms sales sent the wrong message, emboldened Hamas, and complicated a ceasefire deal.
According to Reuters, “Britain’s approval of arms export licenses to Israel dropped sharply after the start of the war in Gaza, with the value of permits granted for the sale of military equipment to its ally falling by more than 95% to a 13-year low.
The figures were provided by government officials to Reuters and data from the Department for Business and Trade’s Export Control unit.
US, Germany increased arms to Israel
The United States and Germany increased arms sales to Israel after the start of the war with Hamas.
However, the value of British-approved licenses between October 7 and December 31 last year dropped to £859,381 ($1.09 million), government officials told Reuters. That is the lowest figure for the period between October 7 and December 31 since 2010.
This compares with the government’s approval of £20 million in arms sales to Israel for the same period in 2022, including small arms, ammunition and components for combat aircraft, according to government data.
In the same period in 2017, the government approved £185m. in arms sales to Israel, including components for tanks and surface-to-air missiles, the data shows, the highest figure for the period in publicly available data going back to 2008.
Unlike the US, Britain’s government does not give arms directly to Israel but rather issues licenses for companies to sell weapons, with input from lawyers on whether they comply with international law.
Many of the licenses approved in the period after the start of the war in Gaza were for items listed for “commercial use” or non-lethal items such as body armor, military helmets, or all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection.
Reuters could not establish if the fall in the value of approved licenses for Israel was the result of a decision by Britain to restrict the sale of certain items, or because there was a drop in demand from Israel.
Separately, however, the new British government said it would continue to engage with Israel on a free trade agreement between the two countries.
“Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has announced the government’s intention to deliver trade talks, starting with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey,” Downing Street said in a statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.