There have been claims that a wide range of UK-made military goods and arms, including F-35 fighter jet parts, have continued to be sent to Israel even after the British government suspended 30 arms export licences in September.
The report released by three campaign groups says parts for the jet, which has been critical for Israel’s war on Gaza, appear to have arrived in Israel as recently as March, five months after the UK said it had suspended its direct exports over concerns they might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Data from the Israeli Tax Authority cited by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Workers for a Free Palestine and Progressive International shows that 8,630 separate munitions have been sent from the UK to Israel since the suspensions.
The data show shipments of military goods, munitions of war, and arms or arms parts falling
under classifications of:
- ‘Bombs, Grenades, Torpedoes, Mines, Missiles And Similar Munitions Of
War And Parts Thereof’ - ‘Parts and accessories of revolvers or pistols’
- ‘Parts and accessories of shotguns and rifles’
- ‘Rocket launchers; flame-throwers; grenade launchers; torpedo tubes
and similar projectors’ - ‘Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, motorised whether or not
fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles’
Protest
An emergency protest is being planned for this evening. Save Our Citizenships wrote: “Tonight – 6pm outside the foreign office Demands: •UK to disclose all arms exports to Israel •David Lammy to resign immediately as foreign secretary •An immediate arms embargo on Israel •Britain to remove its military bases from Cyprus.”
Reactions
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Zarah Sultana, the suspended Labour MP for Coventry South said: “This explosive report shows the Government has been lying to us about the arms it is supplying to Israel while it wages genocide in Gaza. Far from “helmets and goggles”, the Government has been sending thousands of arms and ammunition goods and even still supplying components of the world’s most lethal fighter jets. By the Government’s own admission, continued direct supply of F-35 parts to Israel would put Britain at ‘clear risk’ of contributing to Israel’s violations of international law and therefore breaching our own legal obligations”.
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This has been passed around social media.
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Also, a lot of people are mentioning this…
