2024-08-05 22:50:48
Britain’s new Labour government has unexpectedly imposed a “secret arms embargo” on Israel, according to a Daily Mail exclusive.
Government officials have suspended applications for new arms export licences pending a ruling by Foreign Minister David Lammy on whether war crimes may have been committed in the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
According to the report, Lammy does not plan to make his decision public until the end of the summer, which would delay the deal by several months. The licensing suspension also hampers the supply of military radios and body armor.
“This means that any new applications for licences are on hold indefinitely. For years, the Labour left has been trying to stop arms exports to Israel, and now that they have the levers of power, this appears to be the first thing they have done,” the article says.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell called the move particularly “bizarre” given Iran’s threats to Israel and rising tensions on the country’s northern border, while Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, also condemned the government’s decision as a “secret arms embargo”.
Earlier, Cursor reported that over 200 progressive MPs from 12 countries signed a joint letter calling for an arms embargo on Israel. The document points to Israel’s alleged “gross violations of international law” during the war with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.