[Salon] The Cradle: "Amnesty blasts UK 'gesture politics' after suspension of less than 10 percent of arms export licenses to Israel." (9/3/24.)

https://thecradle.co/articles/amnesty-blasts-uk-gesture-politics-after-suspension-of-less-than-10-percent-of-arms-export-licenses-to-israel

Amnesty blasts UK 'gesture politics' after suspension of less than 10 percent of arms export licenses to Israel

Israeli officials also blasted London for the suspension, calling the move 'shameful'

News Desk

Amnesty International UK has called London's decision to suspend 30 out of 350 active arms export licenses to Israel “gesture politics," calling the decision “too limited and riddled with loopholes.”

“The decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” the organization's Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said on 3 September.

London's suspension, announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday, covers components for certain types of military aircraft, including fighter planes, helicopters, and drones. Around 320 other licenses, including for items for civilian use, remain unaffected.

“We recognize, of course, Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply concerned by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in particular,” Lammy told Parliament.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey told British media this week that components for F35 fighter jets were “deliberately” excluded from the suspension as 20 countries use them, and it would be "hard to distinguish" which components would go into Israeli jets.

“[The] vast majority of other parts our country exports to Israel are either not related to the conflict or maybe used for Israel’s defense," Healy told the BBC.

“Exempting the F-35 fighter jet program – essentially giving this program a blank cheque to continue despite knowing that F-35s are being used extensively in Gaza – is a catastrophically bad decision for the future of arms control and misses a clear obligation to hold Israel accountable for its extensive war crimes and other violations,” Deshmukh stressed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned his staunch allies in London following the suspension.

“This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens,” Netanyahu said via social media, adding that, “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”