Two sources familiar with the call described how the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned his U.K. counterpart David Lammy about what the U.K. requires from Israel to rethink its decision to limit arms exports to the nation.
Speaking at a press briefing in London, Blinken and Lammy spoke about the situation in Gaza and ongoing ceasefire talks. For his part, Lammy said that Palestinians in Gaza deserved a ceasefire. Equally important, he added, international human rights organizations. had to be allowed access to Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. However, it is still being determined whether they agreed on the cessation of parts of the arms supply to it.
On the August 20 call between the two leaders, Lammy briefed Blinken that internal clarification of the legal position of the United Kingdom regarding Israel’sIsrael’s actions in Gaza led them to suspend 30 export licenses to Israel for components for F-16s, helicopters, naval systems, and drones.
One of the U.S. officials said the call was polite, sharing part of the transcript with POLITICO. Blinken also conveyed some awareness that the U.S. was in the course of weighing Israel’sIsrael’s practices in Gaza. Still, there isn’t any elaboration about Washington’s internal processes.
This was pointed out by Blinken when answering the question by the media on how the Biden administration has been supporting Israel’s military aggression towards Gaza. At the same time, some of its key partners are concerned with its actions on the ground.
Asked about the conversation, the U.K. embassy in Washington said, “We expect to observe a lasting demonstration of Israel’s adherence to [IHL] as a way of getting out of the suspension.”
State Department officials did not respond to requests for comment. But in a response from a reporter Tuesday about the murder of an American citizen in the West Bank, Blinken elaborately addressed Washington’s opinion about the Israel forces’ relations with Palestinians in general.
“We have been hearing stories of the security forces turning a blind eye to the use of violence by the extremist settlers against the Palestinians, and now the second American citizen was killed by the Israeli security forces. It cannot be acceptable. It must change,” said Blinken.
Lammy told the British parliament on September 2 that Britain would deny export licenses to around 30 of the total 350 exports to Israel since it perceived that they pose a clear risk of being used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian laws.
When the restrictions were declared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the move as a “shameful” decision which would only cause Hamas to ”become stronger”.
One of the U.S. officials explained that Blinken’s inquiry was not a pressure option. It was motivated by a genuine concern about whether the U.K. would reverse its policy in the future.
The U.K. has been involved in selling weapons and weapon parts to Israel but is restricted, and thus, this might have had little effect on the operations of Israel in Gaza. The U.K.’s decision was perceived mostly as a political gesture to exert pressure on Haftar’s forces but is a new strategic change of pace for the new Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“At least the Brits are willing to call it like it is, which leadership here appears unwilling to do despite being presented with all the same information about Israeli IHL violations,” said a third U. S. official familiar with the discussions. “Leadership fails to realize that if we demonstrate the same moral and legal certainty as the United K. … it will strengthen our position for a cease-fire agreement, not weaken it.”
