The British government is facing renewed accusations of complicity in the Gaza genocide as new figures reveal a massive rise in UK arms exports to Israel.
The latest export licensing figures, compiled by Campaign Against Arms Trade, show that the UK approved licences for £127.6 million worth of military equipment to Israel in single issue licenses between October and December of 2024.
The figure in this three-month period totals more than the entire period of 2020-2023 combined.
Research shows that the majority of these licenses are for military radars, components and software as well as equipment used for targeting.
The licenses for the export of all this military hardware were granted after the UK government’s announcement of a temporary “suspension” in the export of arms to Israel on 2nd of September 2024.
These new figures come as the UK government is trying to fight a legal case to defend its decision to exclude the “open license” for F-35 combat aircraft components from its temporary “suspension” of arms exports to Tel Aviv.
“This is a truly shocking increase in the military exports to Israel”, said Emily Apple, the Media Co-ordinator for The Campaign Against Arms Trade. “This is the Labour government aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It is sickening that instead of imposing a full two-way arms embargo, Keir Starmer’s government has massively increased the amount of military equipment the UK is sending to Israel.
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“Our government is complicit in the death of every Palestinian child. Our government is complicit in genocide. This cannot be allowed to continue. We hope the legal action is successful but these new figures show that we need to increase the pressure and take action to stop the UK’s genocide profiteers.”
The F-35 exemption
The campaign group CAAT estimates that contracts related to the sale of F-35 parts to Tel Aviv are worth at least £500 million since 2016. This makes the export of F-35 parts to Israel the most significant part of the UK’s military supplies to Israel.
The UK has at least 79 companies involved in manufacturing components. For example, BAE Systems makes every rear fuselage for the F-35 and also makes its active interceptor system. Leonardo makes its targeting lasers and L3 Harris makes the weapons release cables.
Despite the British government admitting that there is a clear risk of the F-35 fighter jets being used to violate International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and that the Zionist regime is not committed to upholding IHL, it refused to include the F-35 components in its “partial suspension” of arms exports.
The news of Britain’s burgeoning lethal trade with the Israelis comes as daily life for civilians in Gaza becomes hellish and unbearable. As well as the shocking number of civilian deaths, the number of people injured and wounded in the bombings has been soaring. All this, after the healthcare infrastructure in the Palestinian territory has been decimated.
“On the first of this month, at least 1.9 million people, or about 90% of the population, have been displaced 10 times or more”, said Human Rights lawyer Raza Hussain KC.
“On 7 May the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that every single one of Gaza hospitals has been damaged or destroyed. Official reporting from the ministry of health, cited by UN agencies, indicated that between 23 October and 25 April, over 50,000 Palestinians were killed, including at least 15,000 children and a further 214,000 were injured”.
During a recent case relating to arms exports to Israel, lawyers for the UK government have argued in the High Court that the IDF does not target women and children and that there is no evidence that a genocide is taking place in Gaza.
The UK justifies arms sales to Israel by citing strategic alliances, Israel’s “right to self-defence,” compliance with export licensing criteria, and economic benefits, particularly through the F-35 program, which supports global security and UK jobs.
