Persistent Arms Shipments from UK to Israel Amid Biden's Threat to Cease
Revised Article:
The UK Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, has declared that the UK won't cease arms sales to Israel, a move made a day after President Biden threatened to halt certain US weapons deliveries if Israel decides to wage a massive assault on Rafah.
Cameron claimed there exists a "big difference" between the US government, which supplies weapons directly as a state to Israel, and the UK government, which authorizes the sale of arms by private companies.
"We don't have a UK government supply of weapons to Israel," Cameron explained, adding he thought UK defense exports to Israel account for a mere fraction—less than one percent—of their overall arsenal.
Katie Fallon from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) asserted that Cameron's comments show "no regard for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza or UK law."
"It's disconcerting, and potentially illegal, that our foreign secretary and government think the risk of genocide and war crimes are irrelevant in their decision to authorize UK-made arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza," she told Middle East Eye.
Cameron's comments followed MPs urging Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to imitate the US, which recently halted a shipment of bombs to Israel amid apprehensions about a possible invasion into southern Gaza's Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians.
In parliament, Scottish National Party MP Stephen Flynn persisted, "It's been claimed that the United States has halted an armed shipment to Israel. Will the UK follow suit?"
In response, Sunak stated, "The honorable gentleman might not be aware, but the UK government doesn't directly provide or transport arms to Israel."
Sunak subsequently admitted that the UK government approves armor sales to Israel, which it claimed to handle "extremely seriously" and boasts "one of the most stringent licensing regimes worldwide."
Licenses of concern
When questioned sternly about UK arms exports to Israel in February, the government drew similar distinctions between direct and authorized arms sales.
That month, eight rights groups urged the government to explain how it knew British-made weapons had not reached Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack, as the Minister of Armed Forces had asserted in December.
In reply, the government confessed that it had not dispatched weapons to Israel itself but declined to reveal whether it had revoked 28 current licenses and 28 pending applications for exporting equipment that a Foreign Office assessment had identified as "most likely" to be used by the Israeli military in Gaza offensive operations soon after October 7.
This assessment was recorded in an affidavit submitted by the Department for Business and Trade at the High Court earlier this year, in response to a legal challenge brought by Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN).
Since the announcement, government records filed in the High Court challenge have revealed that the decision was made based on assessments that excluded the Israeli attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy, which killed three British citizens only a week before.
Government officials have frequently highlighted in recent months that UK defense exports to Israel are minimal. In 2023, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps stated such exports were "just £42m ($53m) last year."
Anti-arms campaigners, however, contend that the actual figure could be much higher, considering the secrecy surrounding items sold under "opaque open licenses." They also point out how vital UK-made components might be to Israel's war effort. According to CAAT, British firms provide around 15 percent of the components of the F35 stealth combat aircraft Israel employs to attack Gaza.
CAAT also believes that the real worth of arms exports to Israel is twice as high as the government claims, reaching at least £1bn ($1.3bn) since 2015.
Fallon stated, "F-35 jets dropping bombs on Gaza for the last seven months would not be in the sky without the components made in the UK."
- The UK Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, has asserted that there's a considerable distinction between the US government's direct weapons supply to Israel and the UK's authorization of arms sales by private companies.
- Katie Fallon from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) suggested that Cameron's comments disregard the survival of Palestinians in Gaza and potentially violate UK law.
- In the High Court, it was discovered that the UK government's decision to approve armor sales to Israel was made based on assessments that did not take into account the Israeli attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy which claimed the lives of three British citizens.
- Anti-arms campaigners argue that the actual value of arms exports to Israel might be much higher than the government claims, due to the secrecy surrounding items sold under "opaque open licenses," and the crucial role of UK-made components in Israel's war effort.
- CAAT believes that the real worth of arms exports to Israel is at least twice as high as the government claims, reaching approximately £1bn ($1.3bn) since 2015, and notes that F-35 jets dropping bombs on Gaza would not be operational without components made in the UK.
