Reuters said that British approvals for arms export licenses to Israel declined sharply after the start of the war in Gaza, as the value of permits granted to sell military equipment to Tel Aviv decreased by more than 95%, which is the lowest level in 13 years.
These figures, which have not been previously published, are based on information provided to Reuters by government officials and data from the Export Control Unit of the Ministry of Business and Trade.
The United States and Germany increased arms sales to Israel after the start of the war with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
But government officials told Reuters that the value of the licenses approved by Britain between October 7 and December 31 fell to 859,381 pounds ($1.09 million), and this is the lowest number for the period between October 7 and December 31. 1st and 31st December 2010.
This can be compared with official data showing the government’s approval of arms sales worth 20 million pounds (about 25 million dollars) to Israel for the same period in 2022, including light weapons ammunition and fighter jet spare parts.
The data also shows that in the same period in 2017, the British government approved arms sales worth £185 million to Israel, including tank spare parts and surface-to-air missiles, the highest number for this period in publicly available data, which goes back to 2008.
Unlike the United States, the British government does not supply weapons directly to Israel, but rather issues licenses to companies to sell weapons on the basis of advice provided by lawyers about its consistency with international law.
Non-combat equipment
Many of the licenses approved in the period following the start of the war in Gaza were for items listed for “commercial use” or non-combat equipment such as body armor, military helmets and armored four-wheel drive vehicles.
Reuters was unable to determine whether the decrease in the value of licenses approved for Israel was due to a decision by Britain to limit the sale of certain goods or due to a decrease in demand from Israel.
The Ministry of Business and Trade, which is responsible for approving export licenses, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.
Members of the British Parliament and human rights groups criticized the government for the lack of information available to the public about arms sales to Israel since the beginning of the war.
Some countries, such as Italy, Canada and the Netherlands, have imposed restrictions on arms exports to Israel due to concerns about how they will be used.
Last year, Germany agreed to export weapons to Israel worth 326 million euros, ten times more than in 2022, but the value of exports that obtained approvals decreased to about 10 million euros in the first quarter of this year.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is one of Europe’s strongest defenders of Israel’s right to respond with massive force against Hamas, and has resisted calls to halt arms transfers to Israel, but said the government was committed to a “very careful licensing system.”
In the coming months, Britain is expected to provide information about arms sales to Israel in the first half of this year.
The government has previously banned arms sales to Israel, as happened in 2009 when it canceled some licenses, and in 1982 when it imposed official restrictions after the invasion of Lebanon.