UK complicit in Israel's genocide

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have released a blistering new report that shows the scale of UK complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestine. In spite of the government’s ostensible ban on arms exports to Israel, CAAT explain how the UK is still funding Israel’s genocide.

CAAT state that the UK is using a loophole to provide:

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.

Not only that, the report outlines how, aside from trade in arms, there are numerous ways that the UK is supporting Israel:

training Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in the UK
surveillance flights carried out by the RAF and sharing intelligence with Israel
use of a UK military base in Cyprus for arms deliveries and surveillance flights

Remarkably, CAAT also found that in the three months after the arms export ban, the value of arms exported to Israel actually increased.

Genocide assistance from the UK

Lockheed Martin are the primary producer of the F-35 fighter jet. However, the UK is one of a number of countries that produce parts for the F-35. Currently, Israel has 45 of these fighter jets, with a further 30 incoming. As is typical for mainstream media, CAAT have also found that such outlets have been underreporting the actual value of the parts which the UK produces. In order to continue their staggering continuation of carpet bombing Gaza, Israel is very much in need of a regular supply of parts for their fleet of F:35 jets.

Instead, when considering both production and replacement parts that are sold to the US and make their way to Israel, CAAT found that:

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.

And, since 2016:

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.

It couldn’t be clearer. The UK is playing an active role in Israel’s genocide. Not only that, it’s propping up its economy with the blood of Palestinians.

So, how have the UK been able to play such a big role in the genocide whilst adhering to the arms exports ban?

Single Individual Export Licences

CAAT accessed government export licence data to discover that the use of “Single Individual Export Licences” (SIELs):

for UK arms sales to Israel between 2015-24 was £633 million. SIELs allow a company to export a fixed quantity and value of specified equipment to a specified destination country. They are the only type of export licence to which a financial value is attached.

The UK have been exporting arms to the US, who have in turn been moving the arms to Israel for their use in Palestine.

As CAAT outline, it’s no accident that the number of SIELs increased after the government’s ban on arms exports to Israel. Information as to the specific equipment is not public. However, through the use of a freedom of information (FOI) request, CAAT found that SIELs issued for export to the US (and then to Israel) from October 2021 to the end of 2023 were worth £165.4 million. This included:

• £97.8 million for components for combat aircraft

• £42.1 million for components (and software) for military aero-engines

• £25.5 million for components for launching/handling/control equipment

for missiles.

And, these figures are the ones that are not reported in mainstream media when it comes to assessing the value of UK arms exports to Israel. SIELs are only one type of open export licence – where arms can be exported to a specific destination – that the UK has been using. CAAT found that the use of Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) and Open General Export Licences (OGELs) have also been used. Therefore:

CAAT estimates that open licenses cover roughly half of all UK arms exports. This, combined with the fact it is impossible to know how much equipment is actually exported using these licenses, means there is a severe lack of transparency in the UK arms export system. CAAT has long argued for radical changes in this area to enable a proper, informed public debate about UK arms exports.

Embedded in genocide

The UK is firmly embedded in the genocide of Palestine. CAAT detail on their website on interactive map that shows the 75 companies involved in production of the F-35. But, in their report, they make it clear how crucial UK locations are for the continued use of Israel’s fighter jet of choice:

Key components and subsystems made in the UK include:

• The rear fuselage is produced by BAE Systems in Samlesbury, Lancashire

• The active interceptor system is produced by BAE Systems in Rochester, Kent

• The targeting lasers for the F-35’s electro-optic targeting system, produced by

Leonardo in Edinburgh

• The bomb release cables for the F-35, made by L3Harris in Brighton.

CAAT conclude that:

The F-35 is almost certainly the single largest and most important part of the UK arms trade with Israel, and it makes the UK directly complicit in Israel’s genocidal acts.

And it’s a complicity that the government is all too aware of. After all, the original partial ban of arms exports to Israel was implemented over concerns that Israel was not complying with international humanitarian law. The International Association of Genocide Scholars have determined that Israel is committing genocide. A United Nations commission has found that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch have found that Israel is not in compliance with international law. The list of experts and institutions seeing Israel’s genocide for what it is goes on.

But, as we said, the UK government is well aware of all this. And they’ve still chosen, abhorrently, to use loopholes to maintain their support for Israel’s genocide.

Featured image via Unsplash/Nino Steffen