- In the letter, led by Steve Witherden MP, Parliamentarians told Secretary of State Business and Trade Peter Kyle, they were “extremely concerned” by the Government’s apparent move towards “unblocking” the arms licenses to Israel it suspended in September 2024 and the transfer of new F-35s from a British air base.
- On 12th January 2026 in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Kyle committed to revisiting UK-Israel trade conversations and the decision to pause arms export licenses, claiming that the two matters were “intrinsically linked”.
- This claim is completely at odds with the Government’s obligation to issue or suspend arms export licences in line with the UK’s domestic Strategic Export Licences Criteria and its international legal obligations, including the Genocide Convention.
As well as a constant supply of spare parts for the F-35 jets that Israel has been using throughout the genocide, it now appears that the UK has played a pivotal role in facilitating the transfer of new F-35 fighter jets to Israel. On 21st January 2026 it was reported that three new F35s were transferred from the British air base, RAF Mildenhall, to Israel. It is unclear how the transfer of F-35 jets through RAF Mildenhall is consistent with the Government’s claim to have suspended direct exports of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel.
In September 2024 the Government admitted that Israel was not committed to complying with international humanitarian law (IHL), and suspended 29 of 350 arms licenses to Israel. However, this partial ban also created a loophole, known as the ‘F-35 carve-out’, which allowed components for F-35 aircrafts supplied through the ‘global supply pool’ to be exempt from the partial suspension.
On Thursday 5th February a debate will take place in the House of Commons on the Government’s “Obligation to Assess the Risk of Genocide Under International Law in Relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
Steve Witherden MP said:
“The government mustn’t renege on its arms export control criteria now Gaza is away from the front pages.
“The business secretary has explicitly linked the issue of UK-Israel trade talks with the possible lifting of export license bans, put in place in September 2024.
“If the government were to weaken its commitment to international law in order to secure a trade deal, that would be frankly shameful.”
Katie Fallon Advocacy Manager at Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
“Israel’s genocide is still ongoing. It has been supported throughout by a constant stream of UK made parts for the F-35 fighter jet. The UK government has admitted there is a clear risk these jets will be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza, but fought tooth and nail for two years to ensure their supply.
“The government is aware of hundreds of incidents of potential war crimes for which there has been no justice. Legally, this government cannot justify lifting any suspension on arms licences to Israel, as it continues to perpetrate genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.”
ENDS
