UK Labour Party Calls to Ban Arms Sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia

The Labour Party has vowed to suspend at least some arms sales to Israel if it wins next month’s general elections in the United Kingdom. Labour will “immediately suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen and to Israel for arms used in violation of the human rights of Palestinian civilians,” the manifesto stated. It was not immediately clear which weapons this pledge would affect.

The party also promised to “immediately” recognize a Palestinian state if it forms a government after the December 12 vote and said it supports a two-state solution that would see “a secure Israel alongside a secure and viable state of Palestine.”

Labour has called for halting arms sales to Israel at its annual conferences and party leader Jeremy Corbyn has previously vowed to swiftly recognize a Palestinian state if he becomes the British prime minister. Corbyn has pushed back on the anti-Semitism accusations and earlier this month said British Jews have nothing to fear if his party wins the upcoming election, amid reports that many members of the Jewish community would consider leaving the country if he comes to power.