As Britain imposes ‘secret’ arms embargo, Israel moves to build state-of-the-art munitions factory

Elbit awarded $340 million contract to build munitions factory to decrease dependency

Read this article in:

The issue of arms supplies has become critical for Israel in recent months, as the nation increasingly relies on foreign shipments amid a seven-front war now approaching its tenth month. With the situation set for another large escalation at any moment, these arms supplies are more crucial than ever.

The shipments from Israel’s most important partner, the United States, have dominated most headlines and even caused public friction between the administrations.

Now, the United Kingdom’s newly inaugurated government has imposed a “secret arms embargo,” according to the Daily Mail.

Over the past several months, the British government has largely aligned with the U.S., initially offering vocal support for Israel in the aftermath Oct. 7. However, as time progressed, the UK began to increasingly criticize Israel.

In April, former British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the UK would not suspend arms sales to Israel after a review of the situation.

After the Labour Party won the recent elections, newly-elected Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month initiated another review.

“If there is a clear risk that UK arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law, the government must suspend the sale of those arms,” he said.

According to the Daily Mail, while a review is underway, applications for new weapons export licenses have been frozen. This means that contracts for items like military radios or body armor cannot receive the necessary permissions.

Lammy stated that no decision on exports would be made without "careful assessments of the law," a process reportedly expected to take months. This effectively acts as an indefinite ban on exports.

“This effectively puts Israel on a par with Iran and North Korea despite being Britain’s most vital ally in the Middle East,” the paper wrote.

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, called the situation a “secret arms embargo.”

“It is disgraceful Labour have said they’re doing one thing, reviewing the situation, and at the same time imposing what is effectively an arms embargo on Israel,” Kemp said.

One source told the Daily Mail, “For years the Labour Left have sought to halt all arms exports to Israel, and now they have the levers of power it seems it's the first thing they have done.”

The ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza has led to much debate in Israel regarding the need to boost local weapons production capabilities to decrease foreign dependency, especially during a multi-front war.

On Thursday, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced it had awarded the Israeli defense company Elbit a 10-year, $340 million (NIS 1.5 billion) contract to build a state-of-the-art munitions factory.

Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract worth approximately $190 million to supply the Iron Sting guided munition to the @Israel_MOD. The system, which has already seen combat, can accurately strike and destroy targets up to 10km away, using immune GPS and laser guidance… pic.twitter.com/Y4uKrMRpNq
— Elbit Systems (@ElbitSystemsLtd) July 29, 2024

The contract is will “ensure a steady supply of critical materials for the IDF’s strength and longevity during ongoing and future operations,” the Defense Ministry stated.

“We continue to expand our production infrastructure and capabilities to support our customers,” said Elbit Systems President and CEO Bezhalel Machlis.

“Elbit Systems continues to develop, manufacture and deliver top-tier technological solutions and products that are combat-proven to our customers in Israel and worldwide.”

His statement followed another announcement from a large defense contract won by Elbit earlier this week. The company said it won a two-year, $190 million contract to supply Iron Sting laser-guided and GPS-guided mortar bombs to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The Iron Sting is reportedly the world’s only operational mortar munition simultaneously capable of transforming into a target-guided missile – precisely striking terrorists in a room without hitting the rest of the building.