UK to impose partial arms ban on Israel

The U.K. has suspended some arms sales to Israel, saying there is a “clear risk” the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law, the BBC writes.

U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey tells the BBC the suspension of 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel “won’t have a material impact” on the country’s security.

He defends the timing of the move, saying it was “agonizing” to hear six Israeli hostages had died in Gaza. The official added that the announcement— which came on the same day as their funerals—was driven by a “legal process”․

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says the U.K.’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel is “shameful”. The U.K.’s chief rabbi says the move “beggars belief”․

Lord Peter Ricketts, a former national security adviser of the U.K., says the suspension is “long overdue” but it won’t change Israeli PM Netanyahu’s mind on the war․