But Labour is facing a domestic backlash from some quarters, with Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday asking: “Why are Lammy and [Keir] Starmer abandoning Israel? Do they want Hamas to win?”
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the announcement “beggars belief” and “will serve to encourage our shared enemies.” He questioned the timing of the decision, which came “at the very moment when six hostages murdered in cold blood by cruel terrorists were being buried by their families.”
Helen Whateley, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s opposition Conservative Party, questioned whether it was “a sign of Labour giving into pressure from backbenches rather than necessarily doing the right thing.”
For some critics of the U.K.’s policy on the Gaza conflict, the government has not gone far enough. Notably, components for F-35 stealth fighter jets were absent from the suspension, amid concern about the knock-on effect on the defense supply chain.
Sacha Deshmukh, U.K. chief executive of campaign group Amnesty International said: “We need to see a complete halt — with no loopholes, including for components for F-35s supplied to the USA for onward export to the Israeli military — to all U.K. arms transfers to Israel.”
Netanyahu’s office vowed Tuesday: “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
Sam Blewett contributed reporting.
