David Lammy’s announcement that the UK would be suspending 30 arms export licences to Israel kicked off a storm in the UK, in Israel and even in the US. Boris Johnson accused the Labour government of “abandoning” Israel and handing victory to Hamas. Back in April, Johnson claimed that a UK ban on arms sales to Israel would be “the death wish of western civilisation.”
Johnson and his fellow Conservatives ought to know that Tory governments in particular have followed a longstanding tradition of banning arms to Israel – from Edward Heath blocking the provision of spare parts for Israeli tanks and denying access to US air force planes resupplying arms to Israel in 1973, to Margaret Thatcher’s blanket ban on arms sales to Israel in the wake of its invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
By contrast, the current Labour government’s move applies to only 30 of 350 existing arms licences. Israeli defence officials have acknowledged that the move will have no impact on Israel’s military. From this perspective, the hysterical attacks on the Labour government are completely unwarranted. Yet it can’t be denied that Lammy’s announcement appeared tone-deaf and insensitive, as it took place while Israel was preparing to bury the hostages who had been killed by Hamas days earlier.
The suspension of these licences is clearly intended to be a symbolic measure that expresses disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Yet it ultimately pleased no one: it didn’t go far enough for Israel’s critics on the Labour left and it alienated many of those in Israel who are pushing back against the Netanyahu government’s excesses but remain scarred by the trauma of the Hamas massacre of 7 October.
There is also a risk that an arms embargo against Israel could damage relations with the US, especially if Donald Trump returns to the White House. The Biden administration had reportedly warned the UK that the suspension of arms sales to Israel would damage efforts to reach a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Robert O’Brien, a former US national security adviser who served under the Trump administration, warned of a “serious rift” between the UK and the US if a ban on arms sales to Israel were to go ahead.
The Labour government needs to adopt a smarter approach that targets the Netanyahu government directly. If anything, a ban on arms sales plays into Netanyahu’s hands and is widely perceived by Israelis, rightly or wrongly, as an action that damages national security. The UK should focus instead on targeting those at the highest levels of Israel’s government via sanctions. The previous government, under Rishi Sunak, kickstarted this process by imposing sanctions on violent Jewish settlers in the West Bank, following the lead set by the US.
In August, Ronen Bar, the director of Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, sent a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu that caused shock waves throughout the country, accusing the minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and other coalition members of encouraging acts of terror against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Ben Gvir has promoted police officers with a record of violence who have shown a propensity to act forcefully against protesters, including against families of the hostages. One officer who had thrown a stun grenade into a crowd of protesters was later appointed station chief. The former police commissioner Kobi Shabtai has warned that the police force is becoming politicised under Ben Gvir. Meanwhile, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich recently caused a furore when he asserted: “No one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages.” The ministers remain in their posts and say and do what they like because they know that the prime minister depends on their support to keep his coalition intact.
The UK would be better served by signalling to the Netanyahu government that it is giving serious consideration to sanctions against these two ministers. This move would be supported by the Palestinians and much of the Israeli public would approve. In late August, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, sought to obtain EU approval for sanctions against Israeli ministers but there was no unanimity. Nevertheless, individual member states have been encouraged to take action. Even the Biden administration has reportedly been exploring a move in this direction.
The sanctions path is not risk-free. They have not deterred violent settlers from continuing their attacks on Palestinians. They may not be enough to rein in Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and could make them even more dangerous. However, the move could unsettle other, less hardline ministers in the Netanyahu coalition and could place the prime minister under much greater pressure.
By targeting the most dangerous ministers in the Israeli government who are helping to prevent any possibility of a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza, the Starmer government can send a message to the wider Israeli public that it is on their side – but has run out of patience with the reckless Netanyahu government. It could also change the calculus of the Israeli prime minister. Until now, only violent settlers have been sanctioned, but this would send a signal to the provocateurs and pyromaniacs at the highest level of Israel’s government that the culture of impunity cannot last.
Azriel Bermant is a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague and a visiting researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tel Aviv University
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