Foreign Secretary David Lammy has announced the Government is suspending arms export licences to Israel.
In a statement in the House of Commons, the Labour politician said: "Facing a conflict such as this it is this Government’s legal duty to review Britain’s export licences."
The decision comes after months of protests from pro-Palestine activists.
Lammy said that “esteemed lawyers and international organisations” had raised concerns on British arms export licensing to Israel.
Under the last Conservative government, civil servants assessing arms exports to Israel were told to “cease work immediately” amid concerns they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza.
He confirmed that he had raised his own concerns about exports of arms to Israel after the recent election and that he had launched a review and was “committed to sharing the review's conclusions.”
Lammy stressed that the Government was “not an international court” and that it has not sought to assess if Israel has breached humanitarian law, but said that it is the government’s duty to oversee export licenses.
He said that it was the responsibility of the government to assess if there was a “clear risk if the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
The Foreign Secretary said: “It is with regret that I inform the house today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
The minister said that in many cases it was not possible to reach a conclusion on Israel’s conduct in Gaza, in part due to a lack of information from the ground, but he added it was the Government’s view that Israel could do more to ensure life-saving food and medical supplies reach civilians in Gaza, in light of the “appalling humanitarian situation.”
Lammy also said the Government was “deeply concerned by credible claims of mistreatment of detainees.”
He said that his predecessor and allies had raised concerns with the Israeli government, but said “regrettably, they have not been addressed satisfactorily.”
The Foreign Secretary said that there is “no equivalence” between Hamas terrorists and Israel’s democratic government.
He stressed that this is not a “blanket ban” or an “arms embargo,” noting that it focuses on items that could be used in the conflict in Gaza.
Regular pro-Palestine protests have taken place on the streets of Britain since Israel's response to Hamas' terror attack on October 7 last year.
Activists have demanded the UK suspend all arms sales to the Middle Easter country, accusing it of launching a genocide against the people of Gaza.
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