“No”: Keir Starmer refuses to end ‘complicity in war crimes’ and ban all arms sales to Israel

London (Quds News Network)- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer answered “no” when asked by MP Zarah Sultana to “do what is morally and legally right and end the government’s complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel”.
During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Monday, Sultana said: “In the light of the anniversary of the horrific October 7 attacks, I again repeat the call for the immediate release of all hostages.”
She then addressed a question to Starmer.
“And in light of Israel’s genocidal assault in Gaza, the violence in the West Bank and the invasion of Lebanon, I ask the prime minister if he believes that Israel’s right to self-defence justifies a death toll, according to research by US medical professionals who have worked in Gaza, [that] has now surpassed 118,000, as well as the 2,000 people killed in Lebanon.
“And will he do what is morally and legally right and end the government’s complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets, not just 30 licences? Yes or no?”
Starmer answered: “No.”
He then said: “But it is a really serious point. Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes.”
Sultana interjected, saying: “F-35 fighter jets.”
Starmer repeated: “None for defensive purposes.”
He added: “On the anniversary of October 7, and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel, [it] would be the wrong position for this government and I will not take it.”
Last month, the British government suspended some arms export licences to Israel, saying the weapons could be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law.
But the move, which comes amid lingering international criticism of Israel’s killing of more than 42,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, does not go far enough as it exempts crucial F-35 fighter jet parts.
The British government has previously argued that suspending F-35 parts would disrupt the global supply chain, as the parts are difficult, if not impossible, to trace.
However, arms control experts and researchers say Israel has had to rely on F-35s, described by its American manufacturer Lockheed Martin as “the most lethal” fighter jet in the world, to maintain the high volume of strikes conducted over the past year in Gaza and now in Lebanon, where weeks of bombings have killed more than 1,000 and displaced over 1.2 million.