THE Labour Government is facing pressure to immediately end all arms exports to Israel or see “another day of UK complicity in some of the worst war crimes of this century”.
It comes after the International Criminal Court took the exceptional decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
The Israeli politicians are accused of “crimes against humanity and war crimes”, including starvation, targeting civilians, and murder.
The news has led to renewed pressure on the UK Government to end all arms exports to Israel. In September, Labour suspended just 30 out of around 350.
The UK Government’s own export criteria states that it must block weapon export licences if “there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has urged Keir Starmer to apologise for condoning Israel’s crimes, and urged him to “now commit to ending all UK arms sales with immediate effect”.
Pressure has also come from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said: “The ICC’s arrest warrants are long overdue.
“The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary must immediately endorse this decision. That is the bare minimum.
“Will the UK Government now, finally, honour its international obligations to prevent genocide and end all arms sales to Israel?”
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie (@patrickharvie) reacts to the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for arms sales from the UK to end now. 🗣️'Continuing to be complicit in this genocidal assault is entirely unacceptable' pic.twitter.com/R50918wtzw
— The National (@ScotNational) November 21, 2024
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie further added to the pressure, saying: “There can be no more excuses, Keir Starmer and his Labour UK Government are aiding and abetting a war criminal by continuing to sell UK-made weapons to the genocidal Israeli government.
“Every day that Keir Starmer refuses to end the arms sales is another day of UK complicity in some of the worst war crimes of this century. It is utterly shameful.”
Harvie added: “The Prime Minister used to be a human rights lawyer. It's a disgrace that he’s continued to arm, support and whitewash Israeli war crimes. But he knows how serious this arrest warrant is; I hope he will finally take action to end the UK’s complicity in Israeli war crimes.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has refused to publish any legal advice on arms exports to Israel – despite demanding the Tories do so while he was in opposition.
Asked if the UK Government would end weapons exports to Israel, a spokesperson did not respond.
Instead, the official statement from the Labour Government said: “We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern.
“This government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself, in accordance with international law.
“There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hizballah, which are terrorist organisations.
“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire, to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza. “This is essential to protect civilians, ensure the release of hostages and to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
