What weapons are affected by the UK’s suspension of 30 arms export licences to Israel?
The UK Government has suspended around 30 arms export licences to Israel after a foreign office review found there is a “clear risk” that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the Commons that the immediate suspension applies to around 30 out of a total 350 licences, covering items assessed for use in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The items affected include parts for military aircraft – such as fighter jets, helicopters and drones – and equipment used to facilitate ground targeting.
What weapons have been affected?
The Foreign Office said the list of suspended items includes “important components which go into military aircraft, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones as well as items which facilitate ground targeting, that would be used in Gaza.”
A number of export licences were assessed as covering parts not for military use in Gaza and therefore did not require suspension, such as for trainer aircraft or other naval equipment.
The department emphasised that export licences cover a range of products, including items such as “food-testing chemicals, telecoms and data equipment.”
UK components for the production of the F-35 fighter jet have been excluded from the suspension, except where parts are going directly to Israel, as the Government said it was not possible to suspend these without prejudicing the jets’ entire global programme.
The F-35 – built in the United States by Lockheed Martin – is among the aircraft that have been used in the bombing of Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began 11 months ago.
It is considered one of the most advanced fighter planes in the world, with air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs and top speeds of 1,2000 mph.
A Freedom of Information request last year found that 79 companies based in the UK hold open licences to export components for the F-35, which has been sold to US allies around the world.
According to campaigners, parts supplied by British manufacturers, such as BAE Systems, make up 15 per cent of the value of each F-35 produced.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade estimates the value of the components UK industry supplies for Israeli F35s to be worth at least £336m since 2016.
The Foreign Office said that a suspension of the UK’s supply of “pooled” F-35 parts would have a “significant effect on the global F35 fleet with serious implications for international peace and security.”
Responding to Lammy’s statement, Green MP Ellie Chowns said there is “no justification at all” for the UK continuing to licence the sale of F-35 fighter parts.
“There is an ongoing and clear risk and we urge the foreign secretary to look again and suspend these licences,” she told MPs.
In February, a Dutch court ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza.
The Dutch government has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court and halted direct exports to Israel while it waits for the case to be heard, though it has continued to send parts to the US, where the jets are made.
