LONDON: A former British national security adviser on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for not suspending arms sales to Israel.
Sunak has not halted weapons sales to Israel despite mounting pressure from within his own Conservative Party.
Lord Peter Ricketts, a life peer in the House of Lords and retired senior diplomat, said the UK should have been ahead of the US in suspending arms sales to Israel.
The US decision to halt the shipment of bombs is seen as a warning to Israel to abandon its plan to invade Rafah city in southern Gaza.
More than 1 million Palestinian civilians are taking shelter in the city after being forced out of northern sections of the besieged enclave.
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Ricketts said it is a pity that the British government could not have taken a solid position on this matter and got out ahead of the US.
Conservative MP David Jones made the same comments while speaking to British media saying the UK should follow the policy of the US and consider a pause in arms sales to Israel.
He added anyone viewing the painful scenes in Gaza will want to see an end to the fighting. The MP strongly believed that now it is the time for diplomacy to bring this dreadful conflict to an end.
At Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Sunak faced a flurry of questions over Britain’s policy on Israeli invasion of Rafah. The PM said the government’s position remains unchanged on the Gaza war.
