UK: Labour calls for ‘pause’ in Israel arms sales as Cameron dithers
The British Labor Party called on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel amid a new attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Nearly 1.5 million Palestinians have gathered in the southern town bordering Egypt, which is the last refuge for residents of the besieged area amid a devastating Israeli military campaign.
Since last Monday, more than 300,000 people have fled Rafah to other areas following Israeli warnings to leave before the attack after Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
The call by Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy echoes US President Joe Biden’s threat to halt exports if Israel continues its offensive, which is likely to put the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians at risk.
Israel has already destroyed most of northern and central Gaza, killing at least 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and making the strip uninhabitable for most of its residents.
A large-scale attack on Rafah would leave Gaza without the infrastructure needed to support its 2.3 million people and would exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Lamy said, “President Biden is right when he told (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu that the United States will not provide weapons that could be used in an attack on Rafah if Israel continues a large-scale attack on Rafah against the warnings of the international community.” In a report published by the Daily Telegraph.
He added: The UK government must now work with the US to try to prevent the Rafah attack by making clear that it will assess UK exports and, if the Rafah attack continues, will join our American allies in suspending weapons or components that could be used in this Rafah attack.
Ban ‘not wise’
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron had previously said that it was “unwise” for the United Kingdom to suspend arms sales to Israel.
Cameron said he disagreed with comments made by Biden, which suggested imposing some restrictions on arms exports if Israel attacked Rafah.
The last time I was urged to do so, I did not do so, and just a few days later, there was a brutal attack by Iran on Israel,” Cameron said, referring to a direct attack launched by Iran on Israel last month. It did not leave any casualties.
More than worrying: Cameron criticized continued British arms exports to Israel.
He added, Simply announcing today that we will change our approach on arms exports will make Hamas stronger and make a hostage deal less likely.
According to the British Foreign Secretary, the United Kingdom is constantly evaluating arms sales to Israel. It appears that Netanyahu, who is under pressure at home due to his failure to defeat Hamas after seven months of war or to release the prisoners held by the movement, is determined to attack Rafah.
In response to the US threat to withhold weapons, he said: If we have to, we will fight with our nails. But we have much more than our nails; with this spiritual strength and God’s help, we will prevail together.
The Israeli army downplayed the importance of the American threat, saying that it already had enough ammunition to attack Rafah. Washington was Israel’s leading supporter throughout the war, accelerating transfers of ammo and weapons.
It has supported Israel diplomatically and will provide Israel with more than $26 billion in aid over the coming months.
