British government has issued 108 arms export licences to Israel since the beginning of Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip

The UK has issued more than 100 arms export licences to Israel between October 7 and 31 May, according to government figures.

Thirty-seven of the 108 licences were described as military and 63 as non-military, but this might include telecommunications equipment for use by the Israel Forces. A further eight open licences were granted.

A total of 345 licences to sell arms to Israel currently exist, including those issued before 7 October. The figures were released by the business department in response to what it described as exceptional parliamentary interest.

The statistics show no arms export licence application was rejected or revoked during the conflict, but Emily Apple, of the Campaign against Arms Trade, complained the figures did not reveal the value or the detailed category of the arms export licences, only the number. The value of arms export licences is normally contained in the quarterly arms export licences statistics.

Ministers in three separate decisions in December, April and May rejected calls to suspend arms exports to Israel.

Numerous international bodies and UK campaign groups have asserted Israel’s use of military equipment in Gaza, leading to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, risk breaching international humanitarian law, the UK’s legal criteria for deciding if arms exports licences should be suspended.

More than 36,700 Palestinians have been killed and at least 83,530 have been injured in the Israeli military aggression on Gaza since 7 October, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement on Friday. These statistics are contested by Israel.

The value of UK approved arms exports licences to Israel was £42m in 2022, and publication of the figure for the whole of 2023 is due later this week.

Britain is witnessing widespread demonstrations and protests demanding that the government ban the export of weapons to the Israeli occupation entity.

Source: The Guardian

Edited by Hamda Mustafa