37 British MPs urge the government to stop licensing F-35 parts to Israel.
A total of 37 MPs have urged the British government to be more critical about sales of arms and weapons to Israel and have elaborated on the necessity of the suspension of licensing of parts of F-35s fighter jets. Over the weekend, Some MPs said in a letter sent to the UK’s foreign secretary, defense secretary, and business secretary on Friday that the current partial ban is not enough and dangers the UK with implications in the breach of the international law in Gaza and West Bank.
The British government recently announced that it has suspended 30 export licenses for arms to Israel, but the MPs say more is needed. The latter states that although the government has banned the direct shipment of F-35 components to Israel, new UK-made components are being shipped through third countries like the United States, which continues to do so. According to the MPs, the practice is against the UK’s obligations under international law.
’We learned that the government has stated that it cannot license the direct transfer of F-35 parts to Israel because this infringes international humanitarian law,’ the MPs said in their letter to the official. “But it has not stopped the exports of such components through third countries. It remains questionable whether this exception is legal and justified.
The MPs added that, as it was, there appeared to be no legal reason to continue allowing these exports. They insisted on getting the government to clarify this matter on two bases: the legal justification for the exemption and whether it complies with the UK’s international law requirements.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy earlier supported the partial ban, stating that prohibiting F-35 parts would hurt the supply chain vital for the UK, its NATO partners, and allies. He insisted that these components, which form fifteen percent of the F-35 fighter jet, are crucial to the UK’s defense interests.
However, arms campaigners and human rights groups have expressed concern over the continued supply of these parts. Another even labeled the F-35 as critical in the bombing made by the Israeli military. The apprehension was further fueled by clips from Danish media, which aired last week of how Israeli forces used an F-35 stealth fighter jet in an attack that targeted a designated safe zone in Gaza on July 13 that led to the killing of not less than 90 civilians.
Britain, together with the United States and other Western powers, has been supporting Israel in every way, financially, technically, and in-kind since Israel declared its all-out attack on Gaza in October 2023. Gaza has recently been under military blockage and has, through the years, experienced more than 41,000 Palestinian’ deaths, including women and children, and has injured more than 95,000 individuals.
The war started after the historical operation of the Al-Aqsa Storm, in which Gaza-based resistance groups responded to the Israeli occupation and escalated the aggression against Palestinians. The MPs’ letter emerged when there were demands for more preventive steps and to ensure no more violations of international law. The UK should stop exporting arms to the country.
