Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British military forces in Afghanistan, spoke to Israel National News - Arutz Sheva on Tuesday about the British government's announcement that it is suspending a portion of British arms sales to Israel.
Col. Kemp believes that the British government did not consider the optics of announcing a reduction of arms sales to Israel right after the world learned of the execution of six Israeli hostages by the Hamas terrorist organization. "I doubt the British government even considered the execution of the hostages in their timing. This move was predictable since the Labour Party took office. They are reacting to internal party pressure to take anti-Israel measures. Don’t forget this is Jeremy Corbyn’s party with a new coat of paint."
He explained, "The Foreign Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister of course, is essentially saying he believes Israel is committing war crimes. That is not true. It is the opposite of the truth. They are using all available means to destroy Hamas while minimising civilian casualties."
"Meanwhile everything Hamas does is a war crime. The British government knows this. This move aligns them with Hamas and against Israel. It plays right into the hands of Hamas who are desperate for Israel to end the war which is their only chance to survive and rebuild their terrorist base. They hope to achieve this through the kind of international pressure by their supporters which resulted in the arms embargo," he said.
He noted that the British government's move, which effects just 30 out of 150 licences for arms exports to Israel, "will have relatively little if any practical effect on the IDF who will continue to fight this war. But it gives ammunition to the pro-Hamas camp in Britain and elsewhere and will incite even greater antisemitic attacks for which the government will be culpable."
He cautioned that "this step harms Britain’s relationship with Israel in which the UK is the net beneficiary in the defense equipment and intelligence realms."
When asked how the British government can justify reducing arms sales to Israel on the basis of concern of possible war crimes after it has resumed funding for UNRWA, which has been proven to have employed terrorists who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity and to be deeply connected to Hamas, Col. Kemp responded, "Resuming funding for UNRWA with its terrorist facilitation while seeking to undermine Israel shows just how bankrupt and immoral this government’s Middle East policy has become."
He said that "if sufficient pressure is applied to the government it is possible that they might review the situation and reverse course which is exactly what it should do. However, even if they do this a lot of damage will already have been done."
When asked how Israel could respond to the British government's move, Col. Kemp stated that "Israel could review its relationship with Britain and that could include a reciprocal arms suspension or restrictions on intelligence."
In his announcement to Parliament on Monday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated, "Facing a conflict such as this, it is this government's legal duty to review Britain's export licenses."
Lammy claimed, "This is not a blanket ban, this is not an arms embargo."
He quoted British law as stating that "the government will not issue export licenses if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law. It is with regret that I inform the House today, the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."
The move was announced less than two days after the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were recovered from a tunnel underneath Rafah last week. Autopsy results showed that the six hostages were executed by multiple gunshots at close range.