This comes after the UK announced to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel…reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the British government’s decision to suspend thirty arms licences to Israel, asserting that regardless of the UK’s support, Israel remains resolute in its determination to emerge victorious in this conflict.
“With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future,” posted the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel on X.
Denouncing it as a “shameful move that will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas,” he said, “Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
Notably, Hamas savagely murdered 1200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens. Moreover, Hamas is still holding over 100 hostages, including 5 British citizens.
This comes after the UK announced to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, citing a “clear risk” they could be used in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament on Monday that the partial ban covers items “which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza” against Hamas but did not include parts for F-35 fighter jets, according to Al Jazeera.
“Israel is pursuing a just war with just means, taking unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law,” added Netanyahu.
Netanyahu drew a historical parallel, and compared Israel’s battle against Hamas to Britain’s fight against the Nazi regime during World War II, and said, “Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defending our common civilization, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror.”
Netanyahu emphasised that Israel is conducting a just war, utilising just means, while taking unprecedented steps to minimise harm to civilians and adhering to international law.
“Israel is pursuing a just war with just means, taking unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law,” he said. (ANI)
UK defends partial Israel arms sales ban
The UK has defended its decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the decision “shameful”, saying on social media that it “will only embolden Hamas”.
But Husam Zomlot, the Palestinians’ top envoy to the UK, called the partial ban an “important first step” to the UK’s fulfilment of its “legal obligations under domestic and international law”.
On Monday, the UK suspended around 30 out of 350 weapons export licences to Israel.
But Defence Secretary John Healey insisted the UK remained a “staunch ally” of Israel, telling that Israel’s security would not be weakened by the decision. Government ministers say the weapons could be used in Gaza to violate international law. Human rights group Amnesty International UK said the measures were “too limited”.
Others have criticised the timing of the announcement for coming on the same day funerals took place for six hostages killed by Hamas last week.
Healey said it was “agonising” seeing the faces of the dead hostages, but said the timing was “driven by the fact that this was a legal process” and the need to report to Parliament.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Monday the UK would be suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, affecting equipment such as parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones.
Healey said these were chosen because they supplement equipment used in Gaza for “offensive purposes”, while the “vast majority of other parts our country exports to Israel are either not related to the conflict or maybe used for Israel’s defence”. UK arms sales to Israel are small in comparison to other allies, contributing just 1% of the country’s defence imports. The UK exports arms to multiple countries including Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The US is by far the largest supplier of arms to Israel, accounting for 69% of its imports of major conventional arms between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In a statement, Zomlot said that the Palestinian Mission to the UK would “continue working” with the UK government towards a “full arms embargo”.
Amnesty International UK accused the government of “gesture politics”, given less than 10% of arms export licences were suspended.
The charity’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said the restrictions were “too limited and riddled with loopholes”.
“[The] decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” he said.
The non-profit organisation has continuously called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.
On social media, Netanyahu said: “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future. Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
Asked about comments made by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who accused the government of “abandoning Israel”, Healey insisted the UK would support Israel in defending itself if it came under direct attack.
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