Will Britain stop selling arms to Israel? What we know so far

The British government has not yet confirmed whether arms sales to Israel will be reviewed, although there are reports that a suspension of sales is being considered.

Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday that Israeli officials expected the British government “to likely announce that it will suspend the issuing of export licenses for arms sales to Israel in the coming days.”

However, The times has since announced that no decision has yet been made and that the ministers will not make one until late summer.

Apparently they want to suspend the licenses for certain weapons that may be linked to alleged war crimes. These investigations could take weeks, but no official timeline has been given.

High-ranking government officials have made clear statements about their commitment to international law.

At his swearing-in ceremony on 15 July, Attorney General Richard Hermer KC – a senior Jewish figure in Sir Keir Starmer’s government – ​​said the government would “seek to promote international law and the rule of law in the international legal order”.

Similar comments were made by the Foreign Secretary. In a speech to Parliament on 19 July announcing the restoration of funding to the controversial Palestinian UN agency UNRWA, David Lammy confirmed that he had instructed officials to review Israel’s compliance with international law.

He told MPs: “Our commitment to international law is clear and we follow the necessary processes. As soon as I took office, I instructed officials to undertake a comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law and that process is now underway. I will update the House again once the process is complete.”

Arms sales account for only a tiny fraction of British exports to Israel: £18.2 million out of total exports of £3.4 billion last year.

The new President of the Board of Deputies, Phil Rosenberg, wrote in the Sunday News expressed the concerns of many members of the Jewish community “about the new government’s foreign policy stance toward Israel.”

Any arms embargo, he said, would be a “stunning decision against a key ally and security partner of Britain and would damage its ability to defend itself against terrorist enemies such as Hamas or common adversaries of Britain such as Iran”.