UK to delay decision on banning arms sales to 'Israel' for weeks
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The UK has sold $19.7 million worth of arms to "Israel" in the past year. Ultimately, activists have claimed that F-35 parts produced in Britain have been used for "Israel's" ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.
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.UK Foreign Secretary Davis Lammy during the recent NATO summit in Washington D.C., July 10, 2024. (AFP)
The UK is expected to decide on the imposition of an arms embargo on "Israel" in the upcoming weeks following a probe reviewing the evidence of the occupation's war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, The Times reported on Monday.
Newly-appointment Foreign Minister David Lammy is under pressure from backbench Labour Party members to announce a complete ban on arms sale to "Israel," which was speculated to occur this week, according to The Times.
However, the decision could take longer as ministers are aiming to suspend export licenses for specific weapons linked to the occupation's war crimes in Gaza, a probe that is expected to take weeks.
The contentious arms sales have strained the relationship between the UK and the occupation after the Labour government's assumed power, countering the former Conservative government's lenient decisions and support of "Israel" and its ongoing genocide in Gaza.
British attornies in support of Palestine
Attorney-general Richard Hermer KC (King's Counsel) visited "Israel" last week to explain the Labour government's decision to withdraw the Conservative government's formal complaint to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) jurisdiction on Israeli settlers to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamini Netanyahu.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Hermer to his cabinet. A surprising decision due to Hermer's opposition to "Israel's" illegal occupation of the West Bank, as well as signing a letter from Jewish lawyers urging the occupation to comply with international law after its daily bombardment of Gaza since October 7.
Phillipe Sands KC was also a signatory to the letter and is currently representing Palestine at the ICJ. The attorney urged the UK to impose an arms embargo following a recent ruling from the court urging the end of the occupation of the West Bank by ordering member states not to "render aid or assistance" to the regime.
$19.7 million in arms sales
The United Kingdom has sold $19.7 million worth of arms to "Israel" in the past year. Ultimately, activists have claimed that the UK's production of F-35 has been used in "Israel's" ongoing war on the Strip.
Britain campaigned to become a top-level partner in the US fighter jet program in order to ensure job security in the armaments industry. According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade, British arms manufacturers make 15% of every plane. However, withdrawing export licenses and halting sales of war aircraft, which are used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Israeli Air Force, could complicate the UK's purchase of additional F-35s while weakening relations with the US.
UK police arrest nine during protest against arms exports to 'Israel'
Earlier on Wednesday, nine activists from a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London were arrested as protesters blocked the Foreign Office's entrance in protest against UK military shipments to "Israel".
The organizers and protesters, including laborers and trade unionists, objected and dubbed the arrest an excessive response.
The organizers of the protest, Workers for a Free Palestine, are pressuring the UK government to stop sending weapons to "Israel" and release legal counsel on the matter.
The new Labour government came under fire from activists for not making a big change to UK policy toward "Israel".
The significance of the demonstration is highlighted by its location at the official headquarters responsible for shaping British foreign policy.
The demonstration comes one day after Declassified UK revealed that the UK Ministry of Defense possesses video surveillance footage of Gaza from the day "Israel" killed seven international aid workers in a massacre but is refusing to release it, fearing it would be used as evidence in the International Criminal Court.
The footage, captured by a RAF surveillance plane had documented approximately five hours over Gaza on April 1, when seven people working for the World Central Kitchen convoy were killed by "Israel", including three British military veterans: John Chapman, James Kirby, and James ‘Jim’ Henderson.
