Britain suspends some arms sales to Israel, Biden criticises Netanyahu

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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision was disappointing and “sends a very problematic message” to Islamist militant group Hamas and its patrons in Iran.

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders are being investigated for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel, which killed 1200 people, by Israeli tallies.

The Israeli response in Gaza has killed more than 40,700 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Lammy said Monday’s decision was not a judgment on whether Israel had breached international law or not.

Israel and Palestinian leaders have dismissed allegations of war crimes.

“This is a forward looking evaluation, not a determination of innocence or guilt, and it does not prejudge any future determinations by the competent courts,” he said.

Despite winning a landslide victory in July, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s party did suffer significant setbacks in areas with large Muslim populations and he has been under pressure from some of his lawmakers to take a firmer line with Israel over the conflict.

In Israel, protesters took to the streets on Monday for a second day, and the largest trade union launched a general strike to press the government to reach a deal to return the hostages.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and the US was close to presenting a final proposal to negotiators working on a hostage and ceasefire agreement.

Biden was speaking to reporters at the White House after Israeli forces over the weekend recovered the bodies of six hostages, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from a tunnel in Gaza. Israel’s military said they had been recently killed by Palestinian Hamas militants.

That has sparked criticism of the Biden administration’s Gaza ceasefire strategy and ratcheted up pressure on Netanyahu from Israelis to bring the remaining hostages home.

Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was doing enough to reach a hostage deal, Biden said “No.” He did not elaborate on his remarks.

Netanyahu appeared to push back when asked about Biden’s comments, saying pressure should be applied to Hamas, not Israel, particularly after the hostages’ deaths.

“And now after this we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says, kill more hostages,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said he did not believe Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace would ask Israel to make more concessions and that instead it was Hamas that needed to do so.

Asked if he was planning to present a final hostage deal to both sides this week, Biden told reporters: “We’re very close to that.”

“Hope springs eternal,” he added when asked whether a deal would be successful.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also met with the US hostage negotiation team, during which the president expressed “devastation and outrage” at the hostages’ murders, and they discussed the next steps in efforts to free the remaining captives, the White House said.

Biden’s fresh criticism of Netanyahu comes as he and Harris, who has replaced the president at the top of the Democratic ticket for the Nov. 5 election, face increased calls for decisive action to end the nearly 11-month-old war in Gaza.

The conflict has sown divisions among Democrats, with many progressives pressing Biden to restrict or at least place conditions on US weapon supplies to Israel, Washington’s chief Middle East ally.

Reuters