Published October 07,2024
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday firmly rejected calls to ban arms gross sales to Israel, regardless of escalating violence within the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Lebanon.
During Prime Minister’s Questions within the House of Commons, Starmer responded with a transparent “no” when requested by MP Zarah Sultana if he would halt the sale of weapons to Israel in mild of allegations of warfare crimes.
Sultana, an impartial MP, referred to as consideration to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, the place practically 42,000 Palestinians have been killed within the year-long battle following the October 2023 Hamas assaults on southern Israel.
She cited analysis by US medical professionals, which claims the loss of life toll in Gaza now exceeds 118,000.
Sultana additionally raised issues about 2,000 fatalities in Lebanon, the place Israeli strikes started late final month, adopted by a floor invasion.
The lawmaker requested Starmer to finish the UK’s “complicity in war crimes” by banning arms gross sales to Israel, particularly citing the export of F-35 fighter jets.
These superior jets, described by their US producer Lockheed Martin as “the most lethal” on the earth, have been used extensively by Israel in its offensive.
Starmer acknowledged the severity of the scenario, however stood by his authorities’s stance.
“Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes,” mentioned Starmer, whose authorities suspended 30 of 350 arms export licenses to Israel in September.
When Sultana interjected, repeating, “F-35 fighter jets,” Starmer reiterated: “None for defensive purposes.”
The prime minister justified his place by referencing the latest escalation of violence, together with assaults by Iranian forces on Israel, and the importance of the Oct. 7 anniversary. “It would be the wrong position for this government, and I will not take it,” he added.
Sultana, aligned with the social gathering’s left wing and an ally of former Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn, has been a vocal critic of the federal government’s overseas coverage. She misplaced the Labour whip in July 2024 after supporting a movement to abolish the two-child profit cap, making her an impartial MP.
Source: www.anews.com.tr