The PM was slammed for suspending arms exports and removing opposition to ICC arrest warrant (Image: Getty)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed Keir Starmer over the government’s decision to suspend arms licenses to the country.
Speaking to the Mail, Mr Netanyahu criticised the Labour for “sending a horrible message to Hamas” by withdrawing export licences and signalling that it will no longer challenge any arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
His comments come as the Israeli government is widely believed to have been behind a series of covert operations in Lebanon that have seen electronic devices held by Hezbollah explode, killing at least 25 and injuring thousands more.
Mr Netanyahu said: “After the October 7 Hamas massacre, the previous British government was clear in its support. Unfortunately, the current government is sending mixed messages.
“They say that Israel has the right to defend itself, but they undermine our ability to exercise that right both by reversing Britain’s position on the absurd allegations made by the ICC prosecutor against Israel and by blocking weapons sales to Israel as we fight against the genocidal terrorist organisation that carried out the October 7 massacre.”
The UK has broken rank from allies such as the US in recent months in their actions towards Israel (Image: Getty)
Starmer and the Labour cabinet have defended the decision to suspend arms licenses, claiming that the move came as part of an ongoing review of all licenses and in light of Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas.
Speaking at the time, Defence Minister John Healey said: “This is a government that has a duty to the rule of law, faced with the conflict in Gaza, it’s our legal responsibility and obligation to review export licences.
“The judgement was whether there is a clear risk that anything we supply from this country could be linked to a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
The timing of the decision was widely condemned, coming on the day that one of six hostages recently executed by Hamas was laid to rest.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, previously told Express.co.uk: “On the day that those beautiful people, kidnapped from a music festival like Reading or Glastonbury and held in tunnels for 11 months, were buried, the UK decides to send a message to Hamas that it is able to get away with it.”
Exploding electronic devices have killed at least 25 Hezbollah members with thousands more injured (Image: Getty)
But Mr Netanyahu dismissed suggestions of any illegality or poor practise in the Israeli Defence Force’s (IDF) waging of the war with Hamas.
He said: “Israel is waging a just war with just means, taking unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law.
“Most recently, the new UK government suspended 30 arms licences to Israel, days after Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, sending a horrible message to Hamas.
“These misguided decisions will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organisation that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens, and took 255 people, including five British hostages.
“Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defeating barbarism, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror. Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
Israel’s war against Hamas has seen them criticised internationally (Image: Getty)
Many British defence experts were recently invited to Israel to see for themselves how the country is conducting its military action against the terror act and the measure it has taken to limit civilian casualties.
British General Sir John McColl, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe said that the measures taken by the IDF to limit civilian casualties went way beyond anything he had seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the ICC remains committed to the arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders with the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan recently telling the BBC that warrants were issued for both sides to “ensure people around the world thought the court was applying the law equally based upon some common standards”.
Mr Khan said the ICC had reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity since October 7th.
The requests for the warrants must still be approved by ICC judges.
But Mr Netanyahu did not hold back when discussing Labour’s announcement that it would not block any arrest warrant.
The ICC Chief Prosecutor has defended the decision to issue an arrest warrant for the Israeli PM (Image: Getty)
The avoidance of unnecessary collateral damage had far more check balances than some of the operations I had been involved in as a coalition officer. Personally, I think the IDF have shown enormous restraint and been at pains to attack Hamas and not non combatants.
— Ian Liles OBE (@just_Liles) September 10, 2024
He said: “The Labour Government decided to drop its challenge to the preposterous ICC arrest warrants that were requested by the ICC prosecutor against the prime minister and the defence minister of Israel.
“If the arrest warrants are issued against the leaders of the only democracy in the Middle East, it will compromise the ability of all democracies in the world to fight terrorism, including Britain.”
A Foreign Office source last night said the government remains “a friend of Israel”.
But a spokesman said that “regrettably” Israel had failed to address concerns about alleged human rights violations.
The spokesman added: “We have been absolutely clear that when taking military action to support its legitimate right to self-defence, Israel must adhere to International Humanitarian Law.
“The UK has raised concerns about these issues over many months, and so have other allies. Regrettably, these concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed.
“Our priority remains achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, the hostages released, civilians protected and aid flood in.”