Officials say Britain likely to halt arms sales to Israel | World News

Officials believe that the decision in London will be influenced by the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published last week. The ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violates international law.

Israeli military officers during a march in Al Fara, Palestinian city. (Source: AP/PTI)

New Delhi: Officials in Jerusalem indicated on Monday that Britain is likely to announce a suspension of the issuing of export licenses for arms sales to Israel in the coming days, Ynetnews.com reported.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already expressed concerns about plans by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the report said.

Officials believe that the decision in London will be influenced by the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published last week. The ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violates international law.

The policy change in Britain came after the Labour government took power by defeating Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.

Earlier this year, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, while still in opposition, said the government should suspend the sale of British arms if there was a clear risk that those weapons could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Last week, he said he had pushed for an assessment of the legal situation regarding the use of weapons in Gaza, adding that he hoped to communicate any decisions with “full accountability and transparency.”

Professor Philipe Sands, a member of the Palestinian legal team in the ICJ case, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that Britain must stop supplying arms to Israel to comply with the court’s July 19 order that UN member states “must not provide any aid or assistance to maintain the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territories”.