#StopArmingIsrael

I am writing to you to express my deep concern at the role the British arms industry is playing in fuelling the Israel-Palestine conflict and to call on the government to cancel all arms export licenses to Israel.

The UK government has approved over £490 million worth of arms exports to Israel since 2014, including components for sniper rifles, grenade launchers and armed drones similar to those used against unarmed Palestinians this year. It has also included a swathe of larger weapons including F-35 Jets – which have been used in numerous bombing campaigns over Gaza.

The United Kingdom’s government rightly emphasises human rights on the world stage, yet the insufficient oversight of UK arms sales is fuelling violations of international law and directly contributing to the suffering of the Palestinian people.

While the government claims the UK has “the most robust export controls in the world” this is contradicted by a situation in which arms are being exported against the criteria set out in the rules. Applications are considered against criteria which state that sales should be refused if there is even a risk that weapons would be used for violations of international law, for “internal repression” or to “assert by force a territorial claim”. In the case of the Israeli administration’s current military activities it appears highly likely that such violations are taking place.

If the government is to live up to its own words it must implement a comprehensive and immediate ban on arms sales to Israel, rather than simply standing by while innocent people are killed by weapons produced in the UK.