Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Is "Sure" Government Will Pay Attention To Israeli Jet Court Case
Veteran Labour MP Emily Thornberry is the new Foreign Affairs Committee Chair (Alamy)
4 min read
Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry expects the Government to pay close attention to an upcoming Dutch legal verdict on the sale of parts used to make Israel's F-35 jets.
The new Labour Government in September suspended 30 of 350 weapons export licenses to Israel for items currently used in the war in the Middle East. Ministers said the affected licenses could be used for breaking international law and carrying out war crimes.
At the time, the Government was criticised by human rights organisations, as well as MPs including some Labour backbenchers, for not suspending more arms licenses. There were specific calls for the UK to stop selling aircraft parts that are used to create F-35 Jets.
UK components for F-35s are currently banned from being directly shipped to Israel.
However, parts for the aircraft which are sent to third countries, but ultimately destined for Israel, are treated differently and currently permitted. Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said last month there would remain an "important commitment" to maintaining the F-35 programme "which is integral to international security". Officials stress the F-35 programme plays an important role in NATO and global peace.
At the start of this year, however, the Dutch court of appeal blocked the Netherlands from exporting F-35 parts destined for Israel on the grounds that they were being used to violate international law.
"It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law," the appeals court in The Hague said in February.
Oxfam Novib, Pax Nederland and The Rights Forum launched the lawsuit in December, arguing that the distribution of F-35 components which were kept in a Netherlands air base made the country complicit in alleged war crimes.
The country's supreme court will soon decide whether to uphold that verdict. The decision could prohibit the Dutch government from selling any parts to the global market with Israel as the final destination. The decision could have a major impact on the global supply chain and increase global pressure on UK and Western governments to do the same.
Speaking to PoliticsHome, former shadow cabinet minister Thornberry said she was "sure" that the UK Government would "consider the implications" for its own arms exports regime.
"Should the Dutch Supreme Court uphold the Appeal Court’s decision and decide that it is practical to distinguish between parts for Israeli F-35s and parts for jets for the rest of the world, I am sure that the British Government will consider the implications for any F-35 parts which Britain may export," said the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury.
Any UK decision to further scale back its arms sales to Israel would risk putting further strain on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's relationship with Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter in September called the UK decision to ban 30 export licenses "shameful".
Starmer is under growing pressure from some Labour MPs to take a firmer stance on Israel as it continues military assaults in Gaza and Lebanon. There is frustration among some Labour MPs that the Government's current approach, which includes calling for ceasefires in both locations, has not come close to having the desired effect.
Peter Lamb, the new Labour for Crawley, told PoliticsHome "ultimately, there's a limit to how many half measures you can deploy".
He said: "At some point, you have to accept the fact that if Israel does not want to listen to anyone else on human rights questions, then our obligation to supply them with armaments in order to defend themselves doesn't really exist."
On 7 October 2023 terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages. More than 41,000 Palestianians have died in the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza that has followed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry controlled by Hamas. Israel is also carrying out attacks in Lebanon on what it describes as targets linked to terrorist group Hezbollah.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “We have suspended relevant export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza conflict, following a review which concluded there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
