Britain has defended its decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision “shameful”, saying on social media that it would “only serve to terrorize Hamas”.
But Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s top envoy to Britain, called the partial ban an “important first step” in fulfilling “legal obligations under domestic and international law”.
On Monday, Britain suspended around 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel.
But Defense Secretary John Healey insisted that Britain remains a “staunch ally” of Israel, telling the BBC that Israel’s security will not be weakened by the decision.
A government minister said the weapons could be used in Gaza in violation of international law.
Human rights group Amnesty International UK said the move was “extremely limited”.
Others have criticized the timing of the announcement coming on the same day that funerals took place for six hostages killed by Hamas last week.
Mr Healey told BBC Breakfast it was “agonising” to see the faces of the dead hostages, but said this time “led by the fact that this is a legal process” and the need to report to Parliament.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Monday The UK will suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israelaffecting equipment such as parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones.
Mr Healey said it was chosen because additional equipment was used in Gaza for “offensive purposes”, while “most of the other parts our country exports to Israel are not related to the conflict or may be used for Israel’s defense”.
UK arms sales to Israel are small compared to other allies, accounting for just 1% of the country’s defense imports.
Britain exports arms to many countries including Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The US is Israel’s largest arms supplier, accounting for 69% of major conventional arms imports between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In a statement, Mr Zomlot said the Palestinian Mission to the UK would “continue to work” with the UK government towards a “full arms embargo”.
Amnesty International UK has accused the government of “movement politics”, as less than 10% of arms export licenses are suspended.
The charity’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said the ban was “very limited and has many loopholes”.
“(The decision) means that while ministers appear to accept that Israel may commit war crimes in Gaza, (the government) still faces the risk of complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” he said. .
The non-profit organization has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.
On social media, Mr Netanyahu said: “With or without British weapons, Israel will win this war and secure our future.
“Instead of standing with Israel, a friend of democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s wrong decision will only create Hamas.”
Asked about comments made by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson accusing the government of “abandoning Israel”, Mr Healey insisted the UK would support Israel in self-defense if attacked directly.
Criticism also came from the Labor Party.
Former shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the timing was “unfortunate”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight program on Monday, he said: “I suspect that what he wants is that if he gets legal advice, he wants to go in and tell Parliament about it straight away, but I think it’s unfortunate. all funerals.”
Ms Thornberry also said she expected a “detailed overview” of the legal advice the government had received on weapons, amid questions over the supply of parts for the F35 jet.
Mr Healey said components for the F35 were “deliberately” excluded from the suspension as they are used by 20 countries and it would be “difficult to distinguish” which components would go into the Israeli jet.
Zarah Sultana, who is now an independent MP after being suspended from the Labor Party, has called for an end to all arms sales to Israel.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the MP for Coventry South described the F35 jet as “the deadliest in the world”.
Former national arms adviser Lord Peter Ricketts told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the government’s decision was “long overdue”.
Lord Ricketts told the BBC in April after an Israeli attack kills seven aid workers that Britain should stop selling arms to Israel, claiming there is “overwhelming evidence” that its obligations to civilian security are not being met.
In his latest interview with the BBC, he said: “There are times when the legal advice is so clear, the government has an obligation to follow it.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the move was “welcome but inadequate”, and said it would continue to push the government to “apply the principles of international law” to all export licenses.
Israel has repeatedly denied targeting civilians during its military campaign in Gaza, which was launched in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7 in which an estimated 1,200 were killed and 251 captured.
More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the regional Hamas health department.
