Human rights groups say Britain is ignoring own rules on arms exports after hundreds of Palestinians killed
www.opendemocracy.net
UK has ‘no plans’ to stop arms sales to Israel despite civilian deaths
Human rights groups say Britain is ignoring own rules on arms exports after hundreds of Palestinians killed
Adam Bychawski
18 October 2023, 8.53am
UK companies can continue to supply components used in Israeli fighter jets, the government said.
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Mohammed Abed, Getty
The UK government has no plans to suspend arms sales to Israel, despite human rights campaigners warning its exports have been used to kill civilians, openDemocracy has been told.
The UK has approved millions of pounds’ worth of licences for military equipment to Israeli forces since 2015. They include components for F-35 fighter jets, which can deliver ground strikes and have been recently
pictured in social media posts from the Israeli Air Force.
In response to Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October, which killed 1,400 people, Israeli forces have fired thousands of bombs into Gaza. As of yesterday, 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry. This figure was given before an explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza reportedly killed 500 people. Each side blames the other for these deaths, with no independent investigation yet made.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories,
warned last week that “Palestinians are in grave danger of mass ethnic cleansing.”
