Britain has continued exporting components for use by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) because of gaps in the government’s restrictions on arms sales, it can be revealed.
At least two shipments of parts for IAF planes have been dispatched from Britain since September, when Labour suspended some arms export licences due to human rights concerns.
The information is contained within cargo documents reviewed by The Ditch and Declassified.
The documents show how items were dispatched by U.K.-based engineering firm Martin-Baker to an Elbit Systems factory in Karmiel, Israel, in October.
Martin-Baker specialises in ejection seats, which are found in military planes across the West, including in the cockpit of the IAF’s T-6 training fleet.
These aircraft are maintained by Elbit – Israel’s largest arms firm – under a $38m contract.
The revelation shows how British arms exports are continuing to support the IAF — a key player in Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza — because Labour has not implemented a complete embargo.
Emily Apple, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade, told Declassified:
“The current arms suspension is a farce. This government is making up the rules as it goes, making a mockery of international law and prioritising the profits of arms dealers over Palestinian lives.
“There can be no excuses and no exceptions. The U.K. must impose an immediate, full, two-way arms embargo”.
Hellbound and Down 