Britain has partially halted arms exports to the Israeli Navy, the British Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed Monday. After a review of its weapons exports to Israel, the British government revoked 5 of the 182 arms export licenses, thereby blocking the sale of spare parts for Israel’s Sa’ar 4.5 gunships. The British made the decision because these gunships were used in Israel’s military operation in Gaza six months ago.

Ever since Israel’s military action in Gaza, called Operation Cast Lead, members of the British Parliament and nongovernmental organizations have been lobbying the British government to stop exporting arms to Israel. Operation Cast Lead was a 23-day campaign against the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza which was supposed to stop Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israeli cities.

Britain claimed Israel violated security agreements between Britain and Israel which specify how British equipment may be used. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a statement saying, “We do not grant export licenses where there is a clear risk that arms will be used for external aggression or internal repression.”

In other words, Britain didn’t appreciate Israel actually using the weapons Britain sold to it.

The decision is even more ridiculous when considered in light of British Col. Richard Kemp’s assessment of the operation. At a recent conference in Israel, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and former intelligence coordinator for the British government said “the idf did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.”

Colonel Kemp outlined actions the Israeli military took to minimize civilian casualties. The Israel Defense Forces took measures such as giving Palestinian civilians four hours’ notice of impending attacks and allowing large amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. As a result, the Hamas terrorists received advance notice of Israeli offensives against their positions and even had aid delivered virtually into their hands, which is to the military tactician, according to Colonel Kemp, “normally quite unthinkable.”

Yet Hamas claimed large numbers of civilian and children’s deaths, and the operation was generally labeled “disproportionate.” This type of media coverage led to an outcry by a number of British members of Parliament, who urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to impose a complete arms embargo.

Meanwhile, the British government just recently pledged to send millions of dollars to Palestinian terrorists. Britain agreed to give roughly $30 million to train and support Palestinian security forces in the West Bank under the control of the terrorist organization Fatah.

The Fatah party, run by Mahmoud Abbas, still hasn’t recognized the right for Israel to exist nor has it renounced the use of violence to advance its goals. On top of that, it has been accused of torturing its own people.

The organization responsible for administering the aid money, the Department for International Development, even admitted it was aware of these violations of human rights. A spokesman for the department said, “People are aware of irregularities in their behavior … and that’s why we are investing in making them more professional.”

So Britain gives money to a terrorist group—but when Israel takes action to defend itself from terrorists, Britain refuses to supply it with a few spare parts!

The British government is falling for a deliberate tactic used by Islamic terrorists. In his speech, Colonel Kemp said, “On the strategic level, any mistake, or in some cases legal and proportional response, by a Western army will be deliberately exploited and manipulated in order to produce international outcry and condemnation.”

Islamic terrorist groups such as Hamas study the rules and agreements that Israel abides by in its operations so that any mistake (or appearance of a mistake) can be used to rain down condemnation on Israel’s action and therefore weaken it politically. The decision Britain made, which further isolates Israel from the international community, is the kind of outcome Hamas wants.

In Britain’s case, it is a particularly painful blow to Israel’s international standing. Britain has traditionally supported the Jews since before Israel’s inception. The idea of a Jewish state gained legitimacy when the British government asserted its support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. During its mandate over Palestine after World War i, Britain allowed large numbers of Jews to migrate to Palestine. The British and Israelis fought together in the Suez Canal crisis, and relations remained relatively close in the years that followed. But this has been changing.

Britain’s decision to stop some arms exports won’t have any material impact on the Israeli Navy’s ability to operate, but it is a big blow politically to the tiny Israeli state. Not only is there a chance that other nations will follow Britain’s footsteps in cutting arms exports, but other nations may also further condemn Israel’s methods, and even right, of self-defense.

The United States, another of Israel’s traditional allies, is also putting pressure on Israel. Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama demanded Israel freeze its settlement growth. President Obama criticized Israel over an issue of its existence, which goes even further than Britain’s critical judgment of Israel’s self-defense.

The U.S. and Britain are taking actions that are damaging diplomatic ties with Israel. The Trumpet has written on this subject for many years, highlighting Bible prophecies in Hosea 5:13 and Zechariah 11:14 which show Israel will no longer be able to rely on the U.S. and Britain for support in the Middle East peace process. Instead Israel will turn to Germany.

Britain’s decision may only have small implications for the Israelis today, but when considered in light of Bible prophecy, it is clearly part of a trend that will lead to a gigantic shift in Middle East politics. For an explanation of the significance of this breakdown in relations between Israel and its two key allies, American and Britain, read our booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy.