The British government has not been directly perpetrating violence in Gaza but has played an “influential role,” not only through the validation of arms licenses but also through “wider and deeper military collaboration” with Israel, according to a newly published report.
The study, published Tuesday by the British Palestinian Committee (BPC), sets out the depth of British military collaboration with Israel in the context of the UK’s legal obligations regarding Israel’s “egregious violations” of international humanitarian and human rights law.
It said the UK has not simply failed to meet its third-party responsibilities to uphold international law, including its duty to prevent genocide, but has been “actively complicit in genocidal acts” perpetrated against the Palestinian people for the last 15 months.
On responsibilities and obligation, the report said the UK has the duty to suspend military cooperation and trade with Israel arising from a wide range of intersecting international obligations in the face of grave illegalities committed by Israel.
“The UK is legally bound to act both to prevent genocide from occurring and to prosecute individuals or entities responsible for committing such acts within its own jurisdiction and, where possible, internationally.”
On the UK’s role, the report said that in addition to direct exports to Israel, British-made F-35 parts are sent to the US and other partner countries for assembly and British companies contribute to the global pool of spare parts for F-35s that Israel can access.
“Through this combination of direct and indirect exports, companies producing F-35 parts in the UK have helped maintain Israeli F-35s for combat,” it added.
On Sept. 2 last year, the British government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel after a review and warned that there is a clear risk that certain UK arms exports to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The 30 licenses cover components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and items that facilitate ground targeting, excluding UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program.
– ‘Appropriate legal consequences’
Along with arms exports and parts, the study also pointed out the use of British military bases, saying these have been a “foundational asset” for Israel’s assault on Gaza.
“In particular, a British base in Cyprus has been used by the UK, the US and Germany to supply Israel with weapons, personnel and intelligence since October 2023.”
In the report, the BPC called for an immediate end to collaboration with Israel’s military activities by imposing a full two-way arms embargo and ceasing its provision of all forms of military support as outlined in the report.
It also urged the government to suspend a 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations and impose economic and diplomatic sanctions in order to apply pressure on Israel to abide by its international obligations.
The UK government is also recommended to support South Africa’s submission at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the genocide case against Israel and push for the arrest and prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“If the UK fails to take such steps, then it should face the appropriate legal consequences, including condemnation by international bodies, sanctions and the prosecution of individual politicians and officials,” it added.
Israel killed more than 47,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza, since Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas.
The relentless bombardment has displaced most of Gaza’s population, led to shortages of food and other necessities, and left much of the enclave in ruins. A ceasefire has been in place since Jan. 19.