This report updates and expands our previous briefing, Arming Genocide.
The UK is deeply complicit in supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza: through arms sales, RAF reconnaissance flights over Gaza, from which it is suspected intelligence is shared with Israel, training of Israeli soldiers, and other forms of military cooperation.
Despite the government’s decision on 2 September 2024 to suspend arms export licences to Israel, which the government assessed were for use by the Israeli military in Gaza, they are still allowing the supply of crucial components for Israel’s 45 F-35 combat aircraft, so long as they are supplied indirectly via the US or other countries, rather than directly to Israel. These are used to bomb Gaza, at an extraordinary level of intensity, requiring a constant supply of spare parts. By its own admission at the time of the decision, the government accepts that these UK-supplied components may well be used by Israel to violate International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the government has also allowed a large number of arms export licences to Israel to remain in force, and has also issued new licences. It claims these are not for use by the Israeli military in Gaza, but almost all of them nonetheless help support the Israeli war machine. Indeed, the value of arms export licences to Israel surged in the last three months of 2024, after the government’s partial suspension. Other forms of military cooperation have continued uninterrupted.
Key points
- The F-35 is almost certainly the single largest and most important part of the UK arms trade with Israel. This makes the UK directly complicit in Israel’s genocidal acts.
- The value of UK parts in the 45 planes delivered to Israel so far since 2016 is about $540 million, or roughly £430m.
- This does not include spare parts, which likely amount to around £142m worth since 2016, and around £98m since the start of the current Israeli war on Gaza.
- Between initial production and spares, the estimated value of UK F-35 component supplies to Israel of £572 million represents almost half the total value of UK arms sales to Israel since 2016.
- The figures often given in the media, based on government data for the value of UK arms exports to Israel, are vastly understated, as most or all of the F-35 exports are excluded, as they are made via non-transparent ‘open licences’.
- In 2023, the F-35 “Open General Export Licence” (OGEL) was used to deliver equipment to Israel a total of 14 times, the most of any year since it was issued in 2016. (The next highest year was 5).
- While only a small proportion of F-35s go to Israel, overall the F-35 programme is worth billions a year to the UK arms industry. UK arms companies have $7.8 billion worth of contracts for production for the F-35, of which BAE Systems alone accounts for $6.6 billion.
- The government claims that, apart from F-35 components that go via the US and through international pools of spare parts, it has suspended all licences for military goods to Israel for use by the Israeli military in Gaza. However they have refused to disclose which licences were suspended, rendering proper scrutiny of the government’s claim impossible.
- This government, like previous ones, frequently claims that the UK has one of the most robust arms export licensing systems in the world. The continued arming of Israel’s genocide in Gaza leaves this claim in tatters. It is now apparent that, not only do the government have huge leeway to interpret the criteria as they wish, but they can set these criteria aside completely when it suits them. If the licensing system allows arms sales to Israel now, it is hard to imagine a case where the law would actually forbid them.
- The recent ruling by the High Court that they cannot adjudicate on the matters of international law and treaties raised by the supply of F-35 components to Israel – such as the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the Genocide Convention – as these have not been written into UK law, and that the issue is a matter for the government and Parliament, show that it is up to Parliament to ensure that UK arms export law enshrines adherence to international law. Ultimately, if the government and Parliament will not act to prevent a genocide, then it is up to ordinary people to compel them to, and to take action ourselves to stop arms supplies that enable this genocide.
Key demands on the UK government
- Implement a complete two-way arms embargo on Israel – no exports of arms to, or imports of arms from Israel, directly or indirectly, ending the F-35 exemption.
- As a minimum, severe restrictions on dual-use exports to Israel, banning all such exports that might directly or indirectly contribute to the activities of the Israeli arms industry.
- Sanctions on the Israeli arms industry, including a ban on investments, loans and financing of Israeli arms companies. Israeli arms companies with subsidiaries in the UK must be required to divest from these holdings.
- An end to all UK military cooperation with Israel, including training of Israeli military personnel, and spy flights by the RAF over Gaza from the UK military bases in Cyprus.
