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US at Odds With Britain Over Decision to Halt Arms Shipments to Israel: Reports
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: Reuters/Jane Barlow
US officials are reportedly at odds with their British counterparts over the UK’s decision to suspend some arms export licenses to Israel amid the Jewish state’s ongoing war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Monday that the British government had suspended 30 of 350 arms export licenses with Israel, arguing that the equipment could be used to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas
The move has sparked friction between London and Washington, according to reports, with the latter suggesting that the British may have made reaching an end to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war more difficult.
“They assured us they wouldn’t do this,” an unnamed government source told British broadcaster ITV.
American officials feel “let down” by the UK’s announcement, according to Newsweek.
The US was made aware of Britain’s decision prior to the official Monday announcement, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, a senior British government source told The Times that the US had privately warned Britain against suspending arms sales, arguing it could hurt efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
The UK Foreign Office denied these allegations, claiming that the US has not attempted to encourage Britain to reverse its decision.
“Some ministers also criticized the announcement, with one describing it as an attempt to ‘please all sides’ that had ended up ‘pissing everyone off,’” The Times reported. “Another said the UK should be reviewing arms exports for countries such as Saudi Arabia, warning: ‘Otherwise it just looks like we’re picking out the one Jewish state.’”
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said on Wednesday that while Washington respects London’s decision to halt weapons shipments to Israel, the US will maintain its commitment to helping the Jewish state defend itself.
“In the same way, we wouldn’t expect the UK to apply a US standard in making their determinations. They have made their determination based on UK law; we will make our determinations based on US law,” Miller told reporters.
Miller denied that the UK’s decision might affect future American arms deals with Israel, saying that the US and Britain are “different countries with different laws, different systems.”
However, Miller noted that the US is currently assessing whether the Jewish state has engaged in violations of international humanitarian law during the Israel-Hamas war.
“We have reviews that are ongoing. I don’t want to prejudge what those reviews will conclude, but we are looking at a number of possible violations of international humanitarian law, and we’ll make our own assessments based on our review of the facts and our own judgments on our laws, as well as international humanitarian law,” Miller said.
Amid backlash, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the weapons halt against Israel as a “legal decision” and not an overall arms blockade.
“This is a difficult issue, I recognize that, but it’s a legal decision, not a policy decision,” Starmer said.
“We will of course stand by Israel’s right to self-defense but it’s important that we are committed to the international rule of law,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned Britain’s decision as “shameful” but vowed to continue the war against Hamas “with or without British arms.”
“This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens,” Netanyahu said in a social media post. “Hamas is still holding over 100 hostages, including 5 British citizens. Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
He added, “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
Britain’s chief rabbi also criticized the government’s decision to halt several arms export licenses to the Jewish state.
“It beggars belief that the British government, a close strategic ally of Israel, has announced a partial suspension of arms licences,” Ephraim Mirvis said on X/Twitter.
He said the move would bolster unfounded claims that Israel had violated international humanitarian law.
“Sadly, this announcement will serve to encourage our shared enemies,” Mirvis said. “It will not help to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages, nor contribute to the peaceful future we wish and pray for, for all people in the region and beyond.”
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Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday
US President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
He cited last Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump’s policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s action.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
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Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
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Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg
FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military on Sunday to stop a charity boat carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg who are planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen .. does not reach Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
Israel went to war with Hamas in October 2023 after the Islamist terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel’s national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said on Sunday the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla towards Gaza.
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