Former British army officers urge Starmer to impose full arms embargo on Israel

Four former senior British Army officers have called on the UK government to impose a full arms embargo on Israel and ban any involvement with Israeli-owned or Israeli-supported military companies.

In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the officers said current sanctions were insufficient and that the British government should take stronger measures to avoid complicity in war crimes, The Times reported on Tuesday.

The letter was signed by retired Brigadier John Deverell, who served more than 30 years and was defense attaché in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the 2001 World Trade Center attacks; Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Graham, former director-general of the UK Defense Academy; retired Major General Peter Currie; and Major General Charlie Herbert, a former senior army commander in Afghanistan.

The former officers criticized claims by a senior Ministry of Defense source that Israel’s military practices “resemble our own,” arguing that the Israeli military uses indiscriminate munitions, causing “exceptionally disproportionate and avoidable civilian fatalities and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

They highlighted reports of targeted attacks on hospitals, schools, and other civilian sites, as well as allegations of detainee torture.

The letter came amid concerns over a planned £2 billion British Army training contract with Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of the Israeli military company Elbit Systems, which is part of a consortium bidding for a 15-year contract alongside Raytheon UK.

The former officers warned that military collaboration, including aircraft support and technology transfers, should be suspended immediately.

Citing recent attacks in Gaza—including one on Friday that killed six Palestinians, including a baby, in a school sheltering displaced people—the officers said evidence of war crimes was “so well-documented and compelling that the British government should cut all military collaboration with Israel forthwith, to avoid the charge of complicity.”

At least 7 Palestinians killed after Israeli shelling hits Gaza school

Israeli shelling struck a school in Gaza City on Friday, killing at least seven Palestinians and injuring others, including children.

Earlier this year, Israeli personnel were banned from enrolling at the Royal College of Defense Studies, following criticism that Israeli troops had been trained in the UK during the Gaza genocide.

The retired officers concluded that “now is not the time to return to business as usual with the Israeli [regime],” calling for an immediate halt to military cooperation and a suspension of all UK involvement with Israeli military entities.

In August, Brendan O’Hara, spokesman for the Scottish National Party (SNP), wrote in a letter to Starmer that his “Labour Government cannot sit silent” as Israeli forces continue their genocidal war on Gaza.

O’Hara outlined several steps the UK must take, including a full arms embargo on Israel, immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, formally joining the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case on genocide, and imposing economic sanctions on the Israeli regime.

He also called on the UK to commit to enforcing international arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet. He called for the launch of a naval operation to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

The UK government has come under fire for making “exceptions” to its partial suspension of arms export licenses to Israel, specifically allowing the continued shipment of components for F-35 fighter jets.

A case in the UK High Court raised serious concerns in May that Britain may be complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as it continued to supply weapons and military components, most notably for F-35 fighter jets, used in attacks that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

This comes amid Israel’s ongoing breach of a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which came into effect on October 10.

According to a Monday report by the Gaza Health Ministry, 411 Palestinians have been killed and 1,112 injured in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began on October 10.

It added that 649 bodies were recovered during the same period.

The ministry said the overall death toll in Gaza since October 2023 has risen to 70,937, with at least 171,192 people injured.

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