Gaza: Arms embargo now
By: Nick Dearden
Date: 14 February 2024
Campaigns: General, Trade
Israel is on the brink of another major escalation in Gaza.
Around 1.7 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, to escape the destruction unleashed everywhere else in the territory. But now Rafah itself has become the primary target of the Israeli government.
Even Israel’s closest allies are warning that a bloodbath will result from a ground offensive into Rafah. We cannot look away – not least because our own government continues to supply weapons to Israel, including components for the F-35 fighter jets which are being used to pummel Gaza. We need to stop British complicity in war crimes now.
At the end of January, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s actions in Gaza could amount to genocide, and began a full investigation. Not only does this mean Israel must take steps to prevent genocide, but it also means countries like Britain must end their own complicity and prevent it.
Things are changing, even if much too slowly. Spain has suspended arms exports to Israel, as has Italy and Wallonia in Belgium. Yesterday, a Dutch appeals court ordered the government to block exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel within seven days, arguing that “It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
The British government’s role in facilitating the most shocking crimes in Palestine is not a new development. Britain has consistently sold weapons to Israel, and engaged in deep levels of military cooperation, in spite of Israel’s numerous violations of international law going back decades. With this latest escalation, however, the failure to impose an immediate arms embargo is indefensible.
Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) says that, since 2015, the UK has licensed at least £482 million of arms sales to Israel. This includes £146 million in direct arms sales from the UK. And it also includes military equipment like components for F-35s – in the words of its producer Lockheed Martin “the most lethal… fighter jet in the world” – which are currently being used to destroy Gaza. Around 15% of the F-35 is produced in the UK, and CAAT estimates these sales to be worth another £336 million since 2016.
By continuing to sell weapons to Israel at this time, Britain is clearly in violation of its international legal obligations. Today, we are joining the many organisations which are demanding an immediate end to arms sales to Israel and to the British government’s cooperation with Israel’s military.
Please support us and take action to demand an immediate embargo by writing to the foreign secretary using our template, to demand the UK stop arming Israel.
Photo: Andreas Zeitler/Shutterstock
