https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/the-uk-government-has-unofficially
After much feet dragging, it appears they are doing the right thing
Aug 07, 2024

The UK government appears to have finally stopped participating in war crimes and suspended arms sales to Israel after 40,000 people have officially died (and god only knows how many more have died who haven’t been counted).

After arming a genocidal regime for a year, our government is now acting like they respect human rights - and before you tell me Labour haven’t been in power a year, they have been supporting Israel every step of the way. The fact there was genuine doubt they would do the right thing speaks volumes. You just have to look at the way they’ve flipflopped on arrest warrants for Netanyahu to see these people do not act on principle, but it seems they’ve realised they can’t continue to ignore the law.

The softening of their stance might also have something to do with Labour MPs losing their seats, and other MPs almost losing their seats, at the last election. Imagine what Labour’s position on Palestine would be if Wes Streeting had lost his seat to Leanne Mohamad. It might not always seem like it, but our votes can and do have an influence. Maybe not as much influence as we would like, but our influence is still there.

Whatever the government’s motivations for the latest move, this is still a good moment. It’s still a step in the right direction, kind of. We had been receiving hints for weeks, but now they’ve finally acted, what has actually been done? Well, not much to be honest.

Civil servants who deal with arms exports to Israel have reportedly been given the instruction “suspended pending policy review” from the Department of Business and Trade. However, no final decision has been made, and given Starmer is the flip-flopper-in-chief, he could yet change his mind again. Anything is possible with this guy. However, I suspect the suspension of arms exports will remain in place until there is a peace plan, even if the suspension is unofficial.

What a peace plan would look like is anyone’s guess, and the idea we could resume arms exports to a genocidal regime is nauseating. Israel has not only assassinated the chief negotiator of Hamas but is calling his replacement a “dead man walking”, so these people are not exactly serious about peace. My guess is David Lammy’s review of the arms exports will never be completed. The moment a ceasefire is announced, we will be told the review is no longer necessary to minimise embarrassment.

The government explained its feet dragging as follows:

“It is vital we uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports. We are reviewing the advice available and will come to a considered decision.”

Come to a considered decision? We have received all the advice we need from the worlds highest court and that advice was support for the genocidal regime must stop! Support primarily means arms exports. Is the government saying it might come to a separate decision to the International Court of Justice? Or is this review a charade to avoid upsetting Israel and the US who are basically one country at this point.

One possible reason for the delay is the government is apparently trying to draw a distinction between offensive and defensive weapons, a distinction that would be without legal basis. Just imagine the government announcing it will send defensive weapons to Hamas!

The government is saying its final decision must be legally sound, but strangely it wasn’t so hesitant when it came to suspending funding to Unrwa. There is no hesitation about decisions that cost human lives, but there is always hesitation when it comes to decisions that might save human lives. Weird that.

It’s worth bearing in mind that despite everything, the government is emphasising its “policy towards Israel has not changed”. That means the genocidal regime is still considered a valuable ally and we’re supportive of their stated goal to destroy Hamas, by which they mean Gaza. The government’s unofficial arms sales suspension looks like a case of a parent stopping their child’s pocket money when they really should be turning them into the police.