Britain suspends some arms exports to Israel, increasing pressure to end war

2024-09-03 16:45:22, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Israeli military says it has killed a Hamas militant who appeared in a video on the day of the Oct. 7 attack in Israel drinking a soft drink in front of two children wounded in a grenade attack that had just killed their father . The military on Tuesday identified the militant as Ahmed Fozi Wadia, commander of a Hamas commando battalion. Meanwhile, the British government is suspending some arms exports to Israel over concerns that they could be used in violation of international law, a decision that was criticized by Israel.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced the suspension of some arms exports on Monday.

British Defense Secretary John Healey said on Tuesday that around 30 arms export licenses to Israel for use in Gaza have been "suspended with immediate effect".

"There is no blanket ban, no arms embargo. The question is: item by item, license by license, is there a clear risk that their use in Gaza could be linked to violations of international humanitarian law?" he told British television Sky News.

Secretary Healey added that if "there is a change in the Gaza conflict" where the export of the suspended arms "no longer poses a risk of breaching international law", then the licenses could be reviewed and the suspensions lifted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Britain's decision on Tuesday, calling it "disgraceful" in a post on Platform X, adding that it would not "change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas". "With or without British weapons, Israel will win this war," he said.

The move by Britain has limited military impact but aims to increase pressure on Israel to end the nearly 11-month conflict in Gaza. Britain is one of Israel's long-standing allies, whose governments are under increasing pressure to freeze arms exports because of the death toll in Gaza.

Secretary Healey also called for a ceasefire to be reached.

"We are working in this direction. We have been arguing for a ceasefire for over six months, we have worked behind the scenes in the opposition and now that we are in power, in support of the efforts of the allies to achieve a ceasefire", he said.

Pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire is mounting after the bodies of six hostages, including an Israeli-American, killed by Hamas were found.

Asked by reporters on Monday if he thought Prime Minister Netanyahu was doing enough to reach a cease-fire agreement, United States President Joe Biden said "no," without elaborating.

Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that the pressure should be on Hamas, not Israel.

"They (Hamas) killed six of our hostages in cold blood. So after this terrible murder... I don't believe anyone who is serious would say - 'make more concessions, you are not serious, Hamas is serious,'” he said.

According to Gaza health authorities, the war has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health does not distinguish between militants and civilians.

Israel says it respects international law in the campaign against Hamas, which began after the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people. The militant group took 250 hostages./ VOA