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‘Shameful Decision’ – Netanyahu slams UK arms embargo, highlights Britons held captive

Comparing war on Hamas to World War II, Israeli prime minister lambasts Labour government’s decision to sharply limit arms sales to Israel, vowing Israel will be victorious ‘with or without British weapons.’

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a scathing indictment Tuesday of Britain’s partial arms embargo on the Jewish state and vowing that Israel would be victorious in its war against the Hamas terror organization “with or without British arms.”

On Monday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed Parliament that the Starmer government was sharply curtailing arms sales to Israel, and that 30 contracts had been suspended, amid concerns over the IDF’s conduct in its war against Hamas.

Lammy downplayed the move, insisting that it did not constitute an embargo.

“This is not a blanket ban, this is not an arms embargo,” Lammy said,

“Let me leave this house in no doubt the UK continues to support Israel’s right self-defence in accordance with international law.”

According to Lammy, the 30 suspended export licenses were a small portion of the total licenses for arms sales to Israel, totalling 350. The suspended licenses were primarily for weapons used in the war in Gaza, Lammy added.

On Tuesday morning, Netanyahu responded to the partial arms ban, calling it a “shameful decision,” comparing Israel’s war against Hamas to the war against Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, and noting that 5 of the remaining 101 hostages held in the Gaza Strip are British citizens.

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“Days after Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, the UK government suspended thirty arms licenses to Israel,” Netanyahu tweeted, referencing the six Israeli hostages whose remains were recovered from a Rafah tunnel early Sunday morning, two to three days after they were shot in the head execution-style.

“This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens.”

“Hamas is still holding over 100 hostages, including 5 British citizens.
Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”

Netanyahu defended Israel’s handling of the war, adding that the IDF would emerge victorious “with or without” British weapons.

“Israel is pursuing a just war with just means, taking unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law.”

“Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defending our common civilization, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror. With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”