The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has described the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to suspend some arms sales to its country as shameful.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that the UK’s decision will not affect the country’s ongoing fight in Gaza, promising the citizens that plans have been laid to ensure Israel wins.
The prime minister’s statement came hours after the UK Defense Secretary, John Healey, assured that the UK remained a “staunch ally”, stating that suspension of 30 out of 350 export licenses would not compromise Israel’s security.
Netanyahu through his social media on Tuesday said “Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas. And with or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future”.
While suspending the exportation, the Defense Secretary stated that the weapon could be used in Gaza to violate international law. but human rights group Amnesty International UK said the measures were “too limited”.
Meanwhile, others have criticized the timing of the announcement, coming on the same day funerals took place for six hostages killed by Hamas last week.
Healey told newsmen that it was agonizing seeing the faces of the dead hostages but explained the timing was “driven by the fact that this was a legal process” and the need to report to Parliament.
“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 defense”.
U.K Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, had earlier announced that its government would be suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel, affecting equipment such as parts for fighter jets, helicopters, and drones.
Amnesty International UK accused the government of “gesture politics” given less than 10 percent of arms export licenses were suspended.
The charity’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said the restrictions were “too limited and riddled with loopholes”.
“This decision means that while ministers 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 organization has continuously called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.
Also, former national arms advisor Lord Peter Ricketts has said the UK government’s decision was “long overdue”.
In his latest interview, he said: “There comes a point when the legal advice is so clear the government has an obligation to follow it.”
Israel has repeatedly denied targeting civilians during its military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October during which about 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
