'Not enough:' UK government urged to halt all arms sales to Israel

LONDON

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have called on the UK government to "do more," after it has announced to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel.

The UK announced Monday to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel after a review found a "clear risk" that UK arms may be used in violation of international humanitarian law.

These licenses include components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones, and items that facilitate ground targeting, excluding UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program.

Following the decision, many NGOs called on the government to halt all arms supply to Israel as more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Amnesty UK said that the government's decision is "filled with loopholes and does not go far enough."

"Continuing to supply F35 fighter jet components for Israel is a catastrophic failure for arms control and justice," the NGO wrote on X, referring to the decision excluding components for the F-35 fighter jet program.

It added: "It’s time for a complete halt to arms transfers - no loopholes, no limitations."

Philippe Dam, Human Rights Watch (HRW) EU director, called the move "a major diplomatic decision," but added: "More should be done - including by EU states - to prevent complicity & ensure accountability."

HRW UK Director Yasmine Ahmed also criticized the decision, saying that it "does not go far enough."

She noted that if a clear risk exists, as the review found, the government appears to acknowledge there is, then "there is no justification for not suspending UK components for F-35 bombers used in Gaza."

Ahmed called on Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East and North Africa, to provide a "coherent response" to how it is lawful to exempt F-35 components.

"The UK must immediately uphold the law, suspend the licensing of F35 components that are used in Gaza & end all UK complicity/involvement in the mass atrocities that are being carried out in Gaza by Israel," she wrote on X.

Exempting F-35 parts 'utterly outrageous, unjustifiable'

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) said in a statement that the government's decision came after GLAN and Al-Haq NGOs filed a letter, threatening the government with new proceedings over the issue.

"GLAN and Al-Haq will now consider whether this ban is extensive enough to meet the gravity of the situation and assess whether further litigation remains necessary," it added.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) criticized the decision excluding F-35 components from the suspension, saying the decision came after the use of F-35s was confirmed in Gaza, specifically an attack on July 13 on an Israeli-designated safe zone in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza that killed 90 people.

"The use of such advanced aircraft in intensive combat operations requires a constant supply of spare parts ... this supply will certainly include spare parts from the UK," the CAAT said in a statement.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, research coordinator for CAAT, noted that exempting parts for Israel’s F-35 is "utterly outrageous and unjustifiable."

"The government has admitted that there is a ‘clear risk’ that Israel is using fighter aircraft among other weapons to violate international humanitarian law. How can this ‘clear risk’ not apply to the F-35s? The only right and legal course of action is to end the supply of F-35 parts to Israel, along with the rest of UK arms sales," he added.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,100 injuries, according to local health authorities.