Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s Labour prime minister, may have (partially) pleased his leftist fringes by suspending selected arms exports to Israel, but his allies in the U.S. are noticeably less impressed.
The UK government suspended 30 licences yesterday, on September 3rd, citing a “clear risk certain military exports to Israel might be used in violations of International Humanitarian Law.”
Washington officials said they would not publicly oppose the decision, taken just days after six Israeli hostages were murdered. But John Kirby, a U.S. National Security Council spokesman, made it clear that there was a strong difference of opinion:
There’s been no determination by the United States they [Israel] have violated international humanitarian law … we’re going to continue to do what we have to do to support Israel’s defensive capabilities.
In fact, America chose on the same day to step up its support for Israel’s campaign, announcing criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior terrorists in connection with the October 7th terror attacks.
Kirby also said British officials had given the U.S. a “heads up” about the suspension, and The Times reports that America “privately warned” Starmer’s team against the decision, to no avail.
The newspaper adds that some ministers also urged the PM not to take this course, with one describing it as an attempt to “please all sides” that has ended up “p*****g everyone off.” Not least Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the suspension “will only embolden Hamas.”
On the suggestion Israel might have used these arms in violation of humanitarian law, U.S. Department of State Matt Miller said: “The U.S. is not going to make an assessment under the UK standard. We will make our determination based on U.S. law.” Subtle words, but with a strong message on maintaining support for Israel in its time of need.
The Guardian suggests that Starmer’s decision will have caused a rift with officials on both Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s teams.
