Conservatives condemn Labour’s Israel arms embargo
Senior Conservatives have strongly condemned the Labour Government’s announcement of a partial arms embargo. Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak challenged the controversial decision during Prime Minister’s Questions, questioning how it “will help to secure the release of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas” and expressing his “hope [that] the Prime Minister understands the hurt that has been caused” by timing the announcement as Israel buried six hostages murdered by Hamas. Sunak referred to Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis’ view that the move “beggars’ belief” and will “encourage our shared enemies”. Addressing the United States’ reported opposition to the Labour move, Sunak stressed the importance of “maintain[ing] transatlantic unity in the face of terrorist threats and avoid any perception of splits between our two nations”. He called on Labour to “stand behind Israel and its right to self-defence”.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the move had “all the appearance of something designed to satisfy Labour’s backbenches, while at the same time not offending Israel, an ally in the Middle East. I fear it will fail on both counts”.
Leadership contender and former Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch dismissed Labour’s claims that it was as “legal decision”. Badenoch said: “It is not true that the removal of Israel arms licenses was a legal decision. Keir Starmer should not hide behind this fig leaf. It was very much a political decision”. She said that as Trade Secretary she had previously seen the legal advice and “made a considered decision to maintain all existing licences for arms exports to Israel”. Observing that the UK’s “defence trade with Israel is of mutual benefit” and Israeli defence exports “have protected UK service personnel in conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq”, Badenoch warned that “when this war ends, Israel’s view of our trade relationship will be changed”.
Leadership candidate and former Home Office Minister Robert Jenrick said: “This is shameful gesture politics to appease the hard left. Sir Keir [Starmer] has put party management first and Britain’s interests second”. He added: “Britain should be standing with our ally Israel as it defends itself, and the world, against Iran’s war of state-sponsored terrorism.”
Shadow Transport Secretary Helen Whately said Labour was “caving into pressure from the backbenches” and that it is “really hard for Israel to swallow, so soon after we saw Hamas murder six hostages”. She added: “The timing is particularly uncomfortable and difficult. It is very important that we’re clear that we stand firm in our support for Israel” and noted that “Hamas uses human shields”.
CFI’s Honorary President Lord Polak CBE said in The Daily Telegraph that it was an “appalling” decision, asserting: “On the one hand they are saying they support Israel’s right to defend itself, but on the other they are deciding to tie one hand behind Israel’s back. Britain is supposed to be a friend of Israel”.
CFI Officer and Shadow Veterans Minister Andrew Bowie MP said the announcement was “deeply shaming” during BBC’s Politics Live.
In an op-ed for The Daily Express, Greg Smith MP condemned Labour’s “latest effort to abandon a democratic ally” and said it was a “lamentable and tone-deaf decision”.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused the UK of “abandoning” Israel and questioned whether Labour “want Hamas to win”, while former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard said Labour had been “factually inaccurate and grossly misleading” to Parliament over the issue.
Israeli leaders have continued to strongly condemn Labour’s arms embargo, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing it as “shameful” and warning that it “will only embolden Hamas”.
Six murdered Israeli hostages found via tunnel in child’s bedroom
The bodies of six Israeli hostages executed by Hamas last weekend were discovered via a tunnel shaft located within a child’s bedroom in Gaza.
The IDF was operating from “clear intelligence” in their search for the hostages and eventually discovered the tunnel shaft in a child’s bedroom with Mickey Mouse and Snow White paintings on the wall.
Reports indicate that the IDF also discovered children’s drawings and teddy bears in the area where the hostages were recovered.
In a video released by the IDF a soldier can be seen saying: “A place for a child should be safe and not used as a human shield by Hamas. This is exactly what Hamas does: they hide behind the civilian population, putting them at risk. From this tunnel, we rescued the bodies of six Israeli hostages”.
In the West Bank this week, the IDF discovered a large bomb concealed in a baby’s pram during a raid against Palestinian terrorists in the city of Tulkarem.
Northern Israel targeted by 1,307 rockets in August
1,307 rockets were fired at northern Israel in August – the largest monthly total since Hezbollah began attacking Israel on 8th October in a show of solidarity with Hamas. The vast majority came from the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon while others were launched from Syria. The daily average in August was over 40 and it beat the previous monthly high of 1,091 in July. 116 rockets were launched from Gaza in the same month.
Hezbollah’s rocket attacks continued this week with more than 100 launched from Lebanon on Wednesday with most targeting the Galilee region. The rockets caused a series of fires across the north and a home was damaged in the city of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF responded with air strikes on Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah terrorists behind the attacks.
More than 60,000 residents from northern Israel remain evacuated amid the ongoing attacks, which have destroyed many houses.
Hezbollah has now fired more than 8,000 rockets from Lebanon since 8th October and is believed to possess an arsenal of 150,000 rockets – many precision-guided. 26 Israeli civilians have been killed by Hezbollah and 20 IDF soldiers. Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes have killed 432 Hezbollah terrorists amidst the ongoing skirmishes, as well as 76 fighters from other terror groups and dozens of civilians.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq also claimed responsibility for launching a drone towards Israel’s Haifa port, which was intercepted before it reached Israeli airspace. The terror group has reportedly fired dozens of drones towards Israel following 7th October last year, with one previously striking an Israeli naval base.
Reports: Israel’s counter-terrorism campaign in Jenin winds down
Israel has begun to wind down its largest counterterrorism operation in twenty years in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestinian media.
The Jenin operation has lasted for 10 days, with simultaneous raids on Tulkarem and the Far’a camp near Tubas. It follows a surge in Palestinian terror attacks over the last few years, including a recent failed suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Israels Shin Bet security service reports that 24 Israelis have been killed in 1,245 terror attacks which have emerged from the northern West Bank in 2024. In August alone there were 90 attempted terror attacks from the West Bank and 53 in July – most of these were shooting attacks and several involved explosives. Israeli security officials believe that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups are operating fifteen battalions of fighters in the West Bank.
The IDF has killed more than 30 terrorists, including Hamas’ Jenin chief, Wissam Hazem, and the head of Tulkarem’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) branch, Muhammad Jaber. A series of bomb making facilities and terror hubs have been destroyed.
Six Palestinian gunmen were reportedly killed in IDF drone strikes and clashes in Tubas early on Thursday after Israeli forces announced separate operations in the Far’a camp at 02:00 and 04:00. Operations also expanded to the city of Jericho in the Jordan Valley.
The operation is aimed at counteracting Iran-backed terror networks in the northern West Bank where a number of terror groups – including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – have established control over a series of cities amidst a collapse in the Palestinian Authority’s control.
IDF soldier, 20-year old Staff Sgt. Elkana Navon, was killed in the latest West Bank operation, with many more injured.
Munich terror attack near Israeli Consulate on Munich Olympic massacre anniversary
A suspected terrorist wielding a rifle and bayonet was shot by German police in Munich after opening fire outside the Israeli consulate, on the 52nd anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre.
Bavaria state police called the incident a planned “terrorist attack involving the Consulate General of the State of Israel”. State Interior Minister Joachim Herrman added that the shooting is being treated as a “possible attack on an Israeli institution”.
“The victims of 1972 were actually supposed to be remembered today – but this commemoration has now been cancelled”, said Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor. He added that “Germans and Israelis are both affected by terror, so we must fight against terror together”.
A significant police presence, including a helicopter, was deployed to the scene before forces confirmed that the 18-year-old assailant and Austrian national acted alone. An Islamist reportedly known to local authorities, he died of his wounds at the scene.
Iranian terror plots utilising organised crime groups across France and Germany were recently thwarted by European intelligence agencies, according to German press. Plans to attack Jewish institutions resulted in a suspect reportedly spying repeatedly on a lawyer with Israeli clients and on an unnamed Israeli family, and in four arson attacks against Israeli-owned companies in the south of France.
11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists from the Black September group during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, two immediately and nine during a failed rescue operation, together with a West German police officer.
