LONDON
A group of civil society organizations on Friday urged the British government to not unpause the current suspension of some 30 licenses, but to suspend all arms exports to Israel.
A few days after Business Secretary Peter Kyle's remarks, signaling that the government may unblock arms sales to Israel, campaign groups urged the government to not unpause arms export licenses to Israel, but rather to halt all arms exports.
A joint statement by Campaign Against Arms Trade, Global Justice Now, Global Legal Action Network, International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, and War on Want, said they were "appalled" by the government’s movement toward unblocking arms licenses to Israel.
"The Government’s position was already untenable, temporarily suspending approximately 30 of 350 arms licenses to Israel, amounting to only 8.6% of total licenses," it noted.
In September 2024, the British government announced it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel following a review that found a "clear risk" that some exports could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Last May, then-British Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended negotiations with Israel on a new free trade deal.
'Total disregard for peace'
Touching on Kyle's remarks that he made during an interview with the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, the joint statement noted that this position is "completely divorced from reality."
During the interview, the business secretary said he wants to see movement toward a "sustainable peace" in order for these measures to be considered.
"Israel’s continued killing of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank demonstrates a total disregard for peace, and a continuation of the genocide of the Palestinian people," the groups stressed.
They further noted that there has been little or no improvement to the situation on the ground in relation to the UK government’s own factors for why it implemented an arms export license suspension.
"In this context, the UK should not only not 'unpause' the current suspension of some 30 licences, but suspend all arms exports to Israel and suspend its existing free trade agreement with Israel," they added.
The statement also warned that it not only fails to hold Israel to account for its genocide of the Palestinian people, but it also risks demonstrating the UK’s "weak commitment to upholding international law."
Palestinians have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the Oct. 10, 2025 ceasefire that halted Israel’s brutal war that has killed more than 71,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
At least 460 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 1,270 others injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, according to the Health Ministry.