{"id":51016,"date":"2025-07-22T13:23:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T17:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/is-the-uk-selling-arms-to-israel\/22\/07\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T13:23:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T17:23:59","slug":"is-the-uk-selling-arms-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/is-the-uk-selling-arms-to-israel\/22\/07\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the UK selling arms to Israel?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza and said that Britain could “do more in the coming weeks” if the Israeli government does not change how it is pursuing the war in the strip.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He expressed anger that the “international community has not been able to bring this war to an end” and said he was “sickened” by the killings of Palestinians at aid centres by Israeli forces in recent days.<\/p>\n

Since Israel began its military campaign in Gaza after the 7 October attacks, significant public attention has focused on the issue of assistance provided by the UK. Much of the weaponry used in Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) strikes on the strip has been built or sold by Western nations.<\/p>\n

But information around the extent of the UK’s military support to Israel often remains unclear or classified, and some MPs have called for a public inquiry into the extent of the assistance.<\/p>\n

Does the UK supply Israel with arms?<\/h2>\n

The UK is not one of Israel’s main suppliers of arms. The US is by far the biggest seller – helping Israel develop one of the world’s most advanced militaries – followed by Germany and Italy.<\/p>\n

Since 2015, the UK has approved arms export licences to Israel worth over \u00a3500m ($676.4m) – peaking in 2018, according to Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) pressure group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, much of the attention around the UK’s support for Israel has focussed on parts made in Britain for the F-35 jet. A state-of-the-art multi-role fighter, it has been used extensively by Israel to strike Gaza.<\/p>\n

The UK supplies between 13-15% of the components used in the jet, including ejector seats, rear fuselage, active interceptor systems, targeting lasers and weapon release cables.<\/p>\n

After the Labour Party came to power last year, it suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences, affecting equipment such as parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones.<\/p>\n

Any UK company that wants to sell arms abroad must apply for a licence, and the government said at the time that there was a “clear risk” the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law.<\/p>\n

But crucially, parts for the F-35 were not included in the export ban. The government said it could not prevent Israel obtaining these components as they are sent to manufacturing centres abroad as part of a global programme – not directly to Israel.<\/p>\n

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