LONDON — The United Kingdom’s decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel has angered Israeli officials, confounded the U.K.’s chief rabbi — and even disappointed many human rights groups that say it doesn’t go far enough.
It also marks a shift in British foreign policy, away from being lockstep with Washington when it comes to support for Israel.
After months of public protests at weapons factories across the country against arming Israel, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Monday, lawmakers’ first day back from summer recess, that the government is suspending about 30 of its 350 arms export licenses for Israel.
He said a legal review found that “for certain U.K. arms exports to Israel there exists a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.” Israel denies breaking any laws.
As the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack approaches, and the death toll in Gaza mounts, the British government is one of several around the world that are expressing increasing alarm at how the war is being conducted.
Here are five things to know about this suspension:
1) The U.K. sends Israel explosives, guns and fighter jet components. But it isn’t one of Israel’s main suppliers.
The United States and Germany are Israel’s biggest weapons suppliers. U.K. defense exports to Israel are relatively small and declined from about $55 million in 2022, to about $24 million in 2023, according to government figures.
Those exports include explosives and explosive devices, assault rifles and components of military aircraft. They’re manufactured in Britain under a licensing scheme that allows different companies to export different weapons directly to Israel.
Altogether, the U.K. has licensed arms worth more than $725 million to Israel since 2008, according to parliamentary estimates.
British Defense Secretary John Healey told local radio Tuesday that the partial suspension of arms exports won’t have any “material” impact on Israel’s security.
2) This isn’t an arms embargo.
Several countries — including Canada, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands — have announced a halt to all arms exports to Israel in recent months, out of concern about Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
But the U.K. is suspending less than 10% of the licenses it has granted for weapons manufacturers to export to Israel.
“The U.K. continues to support Israel’s right to self-defense,” Lammy told lawmakers. Britain has long been one of Israel’s closest allies.
A legal review of U.K. arms exports to Israel was commissioned earlier this year by the previous Conservative-led government, which lost power in July 4 elections. It did not make public the findings of its review before it left office.
The new center-left government published a policy paper late Monday explaining its decision. It said it has also concluded that Israel is failing on humanitarian aid in Gaza and the treatment of detainees.
3) Israeli officials say they’re disappointed.
In a post Tuesday on social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Britain’s action “shameful,” and said it would not deter Israel from “pursuing a just war with just means.”
“Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas,” Netanyahu wrote.
Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said he was “deeply disheartened.”
In Britain, the country’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, said it “beggars belief” that the U.K would do this to its ally Israel. He suggested it was especially offensive to suspend weapons exports at a time when funerals were underway for Israeli hostages killed in Gaza. (The bodies of six hostages were recovered Sunday in Gaza.)
On Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that British officials had notified their U.S. counterparts about the suspension ahead of Lammy’s announcement in Parliament.
4) Human rights groups say they’re disappointed, too.
Amnesty International calls the U.K. suspension of arms exports “too limited and riddled with loopholes.” Human Rights Watch said it “doesn’t go far enough.”
Activists are particularly concerned that Lammy announced an exemption for components of F-35 fighter jets, which Israel has used to drop bombs on Gaza. About 15% of those components are made in Britain, according to advocacy groups.
“That includes things like the rear fuselage, which is the entire back part of the plane, and many other bits including the release mechanisms for the bombs,” says Katie Fallon, an activist with the Campaign Against Arms Trade, one of the groups that has helped organize nationwide protests.
Fallon tells NPR she’s heartened by “all the ordinary people who’ve gone on a march, emailed their [member of Parliament], and worked on this nonstop for the last year.” She sees the U.K. decision as a partial victory for her group.
“We can’t celebrate while Palestinians are still in such a horrific situation,” she says.
Polls show a majority of Britons want their government to halt all arms exports to Israel.
5) Some fear this may strain British relations with the U.S. and Israel.
The U.K. has long been in lock step with its ally Washington on Israel policy. But a new center-left British government, elected in July, has indicated it may take a more independent approach.
The new prime minister, Keir Starmer, is a former human rights lawyer and prosecutor. He’s been under pressure from some of his own supporters to speak out about rising civilian death tolls in Gaza, and to condemn Israel more forcefully.
Within weeks of taking office, Starmer’s government said it was restarting funding for UNRWA, the main United Nations relief agency for the Palestinians.
Also in late July, Starmer’s government allowed a deadline to pass without filing any challenge to the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. With the U.S. not a signatory to that court, its ally Britain had pledged — under Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak — to file legal paperwork challenging those warrants.
But in another break with the U.S., Starmer’s government said it would leave the matter up to the ICC, and not intervene.
On Tuesday, when pressed on the Biden administration’s opinion of the U.K.’s arms suspension, the State Department’s Miller said, “It’s of course appropriate for them to make their own legal judgements based on their system and their laws.”
Transcript:
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
One of Israel’s biggest allies, Britain, says it’s suspending some arms exports to Israel over fears that British-made weapons could be used by Israel in a way that violates international law. As the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks nears and the death toll in Gaza mounts, the British government is one of several around the world that are expressing increasing alarm at how the war is being conducted almost a year in. NPR’s Lauren Frayer joins us from our bureau in London. Good morning, Lauren.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So, Lauren, is this an arms embargo?
FRAYER: It’s not. I mean, other countries have halted all weapons deliveries to Israel, but the U.K. has stopped way short of that.
FADEL: OK.
FRAYER: U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy says his government still supports Israel’s right to self-defense but that it’s suspending about 30 of the 350 arms export licenses for Israel. And he says he has no choice after a legal review. Here’s what Lammy told Parliament last night.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DAVID LAMMY: For certain U.K. arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
FRAYER: Basically, the U.K. wants to avoid being complicit if Israel is eventually found to have committed war crimes against the Palestinians with British-made weapons. And that’s something, of course, Israel denies, breaking any international laws.
FADEL: So what is Israel saying about the suspension of weapons from one of its biggest allies?
FRAYER: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu calls it shameful. In a post on social media, he called Britain’s decision misguided. He says it’ll only embolden Hamas. The U.K.’s chief rabbi says this, quote, “beggars belief” coming amid funerals of Israeli hostages killed in Gaza. But human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say they’re disappointed, too. They say this suspension doesn’t go far enough, that it’s too little, too late. There have been big protests across the U.K. for months calling for an end to all arms exports to Israel, not just a suspension of less than 10% of them. I spoke to Katie Fallon with the Campaign Against Arms Trade, one of the groups that’s been leading those protests, and she calls this a partial victory because some military equipment is excluded from the suspension.
KATIE FALLON: The most concerning thing is that it excludes the F-35 jet. Fifteen percent of these jets are made here in the U.K., and that includes the release mechanisms for the bombs.
FRAYER: Fifteen percent – one-five percent – of those F-35 jets Israel is using to drop bombs on Gaza right now are made in the U.K. And that F-35 program is a consortium that involves the U.S. And so Fallon believes that the exemption is political.
FADEL: And, you know, we’re seeing similar scenes in the U.S. with protests. Like you said, there’s been a lot of serious concern and accusations of war crimes against Israel and its war in Gaza, all things Israel denies. So when Britain suspends some weapons, does it actually have an impact on Israel’s military capabilities or actions?
FRAYER: In terms of Israel’s defense, no, not much. The U.S. and Germany are Israel’s biggest weapons suppliers. The U.K. only sends Israel a relatively small number of weapons, about $55 million worth per year, though activists say that’s probably an underestimate. The U.K. defense minister, though, said today this suspension probably won’t have material impact. But in terms of relations with Israel and with the U.S., it really could. I mean, the U.K. has always been in sort of lockstep with the U.S. on Israel policy. There’s a new center left British government elected here this summer. Prime Minister Keir Starmer – he’s a human rights lawyer – he’s faced a lot of pressure from his own supporters to speak out about rising death tolls in Gaza and condemn Israel more forcefully. This may be a sign he’s heard those calls.
FADEL: That’s NPR’s Lauren Frayer in London. Thank you, Lauren.
FRAYER: You’re welcome.
