The Labour Government is under pressure to stop all arms exports to Israel following arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The warrants accuse them of crimes against humanity and war crimes, such as targeting civilians and murder.
This development has reignited calls for the UK to cease all arms exports to Israel. Despite Labour suspending only 30 out of approximately 350 arms export licenses in September, there is growing demand for a complete halt.
The UK Government’s own export criteria dictate that weapon export licenses should be denied if there is a clear risk of them being used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law. SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has urged Labour leader Keir Starmer to apologize for condoning Israel’s actions and to commit to ending all UK arms sales immediately.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also weighed in, stating that the ICC’s arrest warrants are overdue and calling on the UK Government to endorse the decision and fulfill its international obligations to prevent genocide by stopping all arms sales to Israel.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has added to the pressure, accusing Starmer and the Labour UK Government of aiding a war criminal by continuing to sell UK-made weapons to Israel. Harvie emphasized that every day of arms sales is another day of UK complicity in severe war crimes and called for immediate action to end this support.
Furthermore, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has declined to disclose any legal advice on arms exports to Israel, despite previously demanding such transparency from the Tories while in opposition. The UK Government has been contacted for comment on the matter.