Although the UK has decided to suspend some military exports to Israel, this is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on our country’s military capabilities.
The Times reports this.
The UK’s contribution to Israel’s arsenal is just 0.02%, and arms export licences totalled £18.2m last year. The ban does not apply to components for the F-35 fighter jets – the UK excluded them from sanctions so as not to disrupt the global supply chain for these planes.
The revocation of 30 licences out of more than 500, totalling 18 million, is more of a political gesture than a real embargo, and smacks of public relations by the Labour left, which supports Palestinian Arabs. Unlike the UK, the US and Germany remain Israel’s biggest arms suppliers.
From 2019 to 2023, these two countries accounted for 99% of Israel’s total arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In 2023, the United States has approved more than $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including F-15 fighter jets and 33,000 tank rounds.
Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, has sold $326.5 million worth of military equipment in 2023 but cut supplies when the Gaza conflict began amid mounting criticism. Italy, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands have also restricted arms exports to Israel, citing “humanitarian considerations and international obligations.”
Earlier, Cursor wrote that Britain’s Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis expressed his deep disappointment over the government’s decision to suspend licenses for arms exports to Israel.
