Israel arms ban: What role does the UK play in F-35 production?

The UK's decision to suspend 30 arms export licenses to Israel amid its ongoing war on Gaza has received backlash due to F-35 parts, believed to be part of aircraft sent to Israel and bombing the enclave, being exempted from the freeze.

Israel, whose air force has conducted hundreds of air raids of the Gaza Strip since 7 October, has 36 of the jets in its arsenal and is set to procure more in the coming years with the aim of bringing its F-35 fleet up to 75 jets.

According to Danish publication Information and NGO Danwatch, citing the Israeli military, Israeli F-35s were used in a strike that killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing the Qassam Brigades, although the group has denied the commander was assassinated.

The attempt to take out Deif on 13 July killed at least 90 people and injured a further 300, according to Gaza's health ministry, while NGO Airwars have verified 57 of those killed.

Why has the UK exempted the F-35?

Fears Israel is committing violations against international humanitarian law in the Gaza war with Western-supplied weapons saw a Dutch court in February ordering a ban on the supply of F-35 components to Israel.

The UK provides 15 percent of the components that make up the F-35, one of the latest generation strike aircraft.

Due to there multiple variations of the F-35 being in service among multiple air forces across the world, it is not clear if UK-made components are used in the Israeli-operated ones or if they have been used in Gaza strikes, but Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) said it is "almost certainly" they are.

In his Commons speech, Foreign Minister David Lammy said that "the effects of suspending all licenses for the F-35 programme would undermine the global F-35 supply chain that is vital for the security of the UK, our allies, and NATO".

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) summary paper on the decision to suspend the 30 licenses found it was difficult to judge how Israel conducts its hostilities in Gaza, which the F-35 case would be related to.

"This is in part due to the opaque and contested information environment in Gaza and the challenges of accessing the specific and sensitive information necessary from Israel, such as intended targets and anticipated civilian harm," it read.

It claimed that Hamas was embedded among civilian populations and infrastructure, so it "complicates" a judgement on the matter, something the group denies.

In a statement to The New Arab, the MOD said the UK contributes to a global pool of spare parts as part of the F-35 programme and that parts are not sent directly to Israel, although a suspension of Israel would undermine the overall programme.

'Stopped short of stripping Israel of its tools of genocide'

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said that the ban "does not go nearly far enough, and it has come far too long into Israel's genocide in Gaza".

"The decision to continue exporting parts for F-35 aircraft in particular means that he's stopped short of stripping Israel of its tools of genocide," ICJP added.

Meanwhile, CAAT said of the statement that "there is nothing to preclude the government from simply removing Israel from the list of approved recipients for the Open General License".

A collective statement on ending all arms transfers to Israel, which highlighted the F-35 exemption, was signed by 18 UK-based charities including Medical Aid for Palestinians, Oxfam GB and Save the Children UK.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign also called on the government to "end the export of F-35 components for planes that will then be sold to Israel", while several MPs have joined the call.

Labour MP Zarah Sultana has demanded a complete embargo on UK arms to Israel, saying: "We shouldn't just ban a small fraction of arms licenses to Israel."

The new Independent Alliance parliamentary group of MPs, consisting of Jeremy Corbyn and four other newly-elected pro-Gaza independents, also issued a statement of condemnation.

"This announcement must be the first step in ending all arms to Israel. That includes parts of F-35 fighter jets, used by the Israeli military to commit genocide in Gaza."

Israel's war on Gaza, which has been ongoing since October 2023, has killed 40,819 people and wounded a further 94,291.