
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron confirmed on Tuesday that the UK government will not suspend arms exports to Israel after the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike on Gaza last week, The Guardian reported.
Cameron said that he had reviewed the most recent legal advice about the situation on the ground but this left the UK’s position on export licenses “unchanged”.
At the same time, Cameron said ministers had “grave concerns” about humanitarian access in Gaza as he urged Israel to turn its commitments on aid “into reality” at a joint press conference with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken.
Cameron’s comments come as Downing Street has come under mounting pressure to suspend weapons exports to Israel.
Last month, a letter signed by more than 130 British MPs was sent to Cameron, demanding that the British government immediately halt arms sales to Israel, because "UK-made arms are being used in Gaza," according to the signatories. The letter was initiated by Zarah Sultana.
Cameron said that continuing to allow arms exports put the UK in line with other “like-minded countries” and reiterated that the UK had a robust legal process for assessing those licenses, according to The Guardian.
The British government was supportive of Israel’s war in Gaza in the early going. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel in late October, in a show of solidarity following the Hamas massacre several weeks earlier.
During the visit, Sunak met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, "We absolutely support Israel's right to defend itself, to go after Hamas, and to return its hostages."
Last week, however, Sunak called the war between Israel and Hamas "terrible" and said that it "must end".
Sunak also reportedly warned Netanyahu during a recent conversation that the UK is considering declaring Israel in violation of international law.