After restoring funding to UNRWA, new British Labour government might impose arms embargo on Israel within days, weeks

The new British Labour government is expected to suspend some arms exports to Israel, the Telegraph reported on Monday, citing two Israeli sources that stated that the United Kingdom and Israel are engaged in “intense talks” regarding the issue.

Labour was expected to announce its decision to withhold some weapons exports to Israel on Tuesday, but due to the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 Israeli Druze children on Saturday in Majdal Shams, the British government may postpone until later this summer, the Telegraph reported.

According to Ynet News, the Israeli government is concerned that the UK's decision to cease arms exports could inspire other nations to follow suit.

Last May, former British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the UK would not suspend arms shipments to Israel.

“If you're saying to me, ‘Why not have a, you know, political declaration now to have an immediate arms embargo?’” Cameron said at the time, “I was pressed to do that a few months ago and the very next thing that happened, just a few days later, was a massive Iranian attack on Israel, including 140 cruise missiles.” 

David Lammy, the UK's new foreign secretary, is in favor of imposing the arms embargo.

“If there is a clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law, the government must suspend the sale of those arms,” Lammy stated. He recently initiated a review to decide if an arms embargo should be imposed.

“A review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law is ongoing,” a UK government spokesman told the Telegraph.

The UK sells components for Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets, as well as helicopters, submarines and body armor. Last year, UK exports amounted to £18.2 million ($23.4 million). Despite the previous British government’s official pro-Israel stance, the UK’s approval of arms export licenses to Israel has plunged sharply since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. The value of permits granted for the sale of military equipment to Israel has reportedly fallen by more than 95% to a 13-year low.

Earlier this month, the UK restored funding to UNRWA, despite overwhelming evidence that the organization is deeply involved in Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure. Lammy used his first speech to parliamentarians to announce the release of £21 million ($27 million) to UNRWA.

Aid to Gaza is a “moral necessity,” he stated, adding: “UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can get aid into Gaza at the scale needed.”

He only briefly referred to UNRWA staff’s involvement in the Oct. 7 massacre.

“I was appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attacks, but the UN took those allegations seriously,” Lammy told British Members of Parliament.

He claimed that UNRWA now operates according to "the highest standards."

“We are reassured that UNRWA is ensuring that it meets the highest standards of neutrality and is strengthening its procedures, including on vetting,” Lammy told them.

The new British government also reversed its stance on the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, withdrawing its objections to the charges.