Activists slam UK over arms sales restrictions’ removal for Israel
Human rights activists have censured the UK government for lifting restrictions on arms sales to Israel, which were imposed in the summer of 2014 during Israel’s 50-day bloody Gaza assault.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) said on Friday that the move signals that Israel can continue to buy British weapons for use against Palestinians.
However, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) defended the move, saying a year-long review of arms licenses to Israel had left it satisfied the contracts meet the UK’s export criteria, RT reported.
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said Thursday that his department was satisfied that licenses for military material, including components for radar and tanks, now meet the UK’s export criteria.
Under British regulations, the sales of arms that can be used to commit human rights violations are banned.
Now Jim Brann with the Stop the War Coalition says Israel has been the key ally of the British government in the Middle East, that is why, he says, the UK has always defended the regime, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying last year during the war on Gaza that Israel “had a right to defend itself.”
The latest development comes after a report published in early July revealed the British government approved £4mn worth of arms to Israel in the immediate months following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Among the arms sales Britain presided over, were special components for military helicopters and a range of hi-tech parts for guidance and navigation systems used by the Israeli military.
Israel’s 50-day war against Gaza, which started on July 8, 2014, killed 2,140 Palestinians. It also wreaked huge destruction on the enclave.
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