Opinion: Why the UK refuses to do the one thing that could stop Israel's 'intolerable' war on Gaza

What Israel is doing in Gaza is “morally wrong and unjustifiable”, its actions “intolerable” and “an affront to the values of the British people”.

These are not the words of a pro-Palestine activist, but of the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, who has now suspended negotiations on a new free trade agreement and vowed to review co-operation on the 2030 bilateral road map. 

But the UK government still won’t take the single fastest and most effective step: ending military cooperation with Israel and halting all arms sales. 

Lammy said in parliament that “arms are not getting to Israel that could be used in Gaza”. This is false. The UK government last year suspended a small number of arms export licences - around 10 percent - after determining that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law, but it allowed UK participation in the F-35 fighter jet programme to continue. 

In addition, new data from both Israel and the UK raises concerns about the scale and end use of UK-supplied weaponry. 

Read more: Why the UK refuses to do the one thing that could stop Israel's 'intolerable' war on Gaza Opinion by Anna Stavrianakis