Israeli troops and military equipment are amassing in southern Israel ahead of any movement in Rafah Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP
Labour called for the UK for the first time will suspend arms sales to Israel amid concerns about a military offensive in Rafah.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, called on the government to suspend the sale of weapons that could be used in the Rafah attack.
It marks a rift with the government, with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron saying Sunday that stopping arms exports to Israel was “not a sensible course of action”.
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The US has threatened to cut off offensive weapons supplies to Israel if it carries out an attack on Rafah.
Explaining Labour's change of position, Mr Lammy said: “Labour has opposed the Israeli offensive in Rafah for months and made it clear that it should not continue.
“This was part of the Labor motion passed by the House of Commons in February and is one of the reasons we asked David Cameron to publish a summary of the legal advice on gun sales.
“President Biden is right to say [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu that the US will not supply weapons that could be used in the Rafah offensive if Israel proceeds with a full-scale attack on Rafah despite warnings from the international community.
“The US has rightly made it clear that it will continue to supply weapons that will enable Israel to defend itself.
“The UK Government should now work with the US to try to prevent an attack on Rafah, making it clear that it will value British exports and If the Rafah offensive continues, join our American allies in suspending weapons or components that may be used in Rafah. offensive.”
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, accused the Labor Party of abandoning Israel at a critical moment.
“Israel is acting in legitimate self-defense against Hamas. We know that Hamas battalions, militants and many hostages remain in Rafah.
“To degrade Hamas and defend itself, Israel needs to enter Rafah and the UK must continue to support Israel now,” she said.
“So that the suspension of arms exports, symbolically speaking, would be nothing more than appeasement of Hamas.
“The truth is that Israel will win this battle with or without British support. The Labor Party succumbed to pressure from the far left. This is not a serious foreign policy.”
Lord Cameron said on Sunday that the US and Britain were “in a completely different situation” when asked whether Britain would follow in America's footsteps.
He said: “The United States is a huge, huge, state-owned arms supplier to Israel, including 1,000-pound bombs and everything else.
Labour's announcement is “a bit embarrassing” for David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary. Photo: Elliott Franks
“The UK supplies less than 1 percent of Israel's weapons and is not a government supplier. We have a licensing system and those licenses can be closed if it is determined that there is a serious risk of serious international human rights violations.”
The Tory peer said he had been called upon to announce an immediate arms embargo within a few months. ago “and the next thing that happened just a few days later was a massive Iranian attack on Israel.”
“I don't think that would have been a wise path, and I still don't think so.” I don't think that would be a wise path,” he said, adding that it would only “strengthen Hamas.”
The UK's arms export regime would prevent arms being supplied to Israel if there was a “clear risk that these items could be used to commit or facilitate a serious breach of international humanitarian law,” he added.
A government source said: “David Lammy misunderstands that Britain is not in the same position as the US , because we have never supplied weapons to Israel from the state.
“It’s a little embarrassing for Lammy that he doesn’t understand it.”
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