Arms exports allow Israel to defend itself from Hezbollah, says Trade Secretary

Restrictions on UK arms exports to Israel are “fair” and “proportionate”, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said.

The UK suspended some arms export licences to Israel earlier this month over concerns the country is violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Mr Reynolds said the existing arms rules still allow Israel to “defend itself” against Lebanon.

The Daily Mail reported Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of the ending of some arms exports, calling the move “misguided”, as he claimed the country is “waging a just war with just means”.

Fears have intensified that the simmering conflict between Israel and Lebanon could escalate into all-out war, after a second wave of attacks in Beirut on Wednesday.

The attacks, which were widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, have killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 450.

Several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to the Associated Press.

Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israel’s military almost daily since October 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Since then, hundreds have been killed in strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced.

Mr Reynolds said the decision on ending about 30 of some 350 arms export licences to Israel “falls to me” and that he takes “personal responsibility” for explaining the impact.

He told LBC: “The findings that were passed to me from the Foreign Office, from the Foreign Secretary, that there was a risk that Israel was not complying with international humanitarian law in relation to detainees and access to aid, mean that I have to act.

“I set the scope of the limitations, the restrictions that we put in place. I did so to restrict those licences to the conflict in Gaza, making sure that Israel can still be in a position to defend itself against Hezbollah and Lebanon.”

He added: “The decision we took was fair, was proportionate, was consistent with international law, and fundamentally what we need, what everyone needs in the Middle East, is a ceasefire in that conflict.

“That is in Israel’s interest. I think it’s in everyone’s interest to make sure we get there, but we will always comply with international law as a Government, I think you would expect that of the UK Government.

“But I was cognisant of the risk in the north, from Lebanon, from Hezbollah, and made sure the restrictions we put in place reflected that situation.”

On Tuesday pager bombings in Lebanon killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,800 others.

Many of the casualties were not Hezbollah fighters, but members of the group’s extensive civilian operations, mainly serving Lebanon’s Shiite community.

The pager bombings appeared to be a complex operation months in the making, with many experts believing Israel infiltrated the supply chain and rigged hundreds of pagers with explosives before they were imported to Lebanon.