UK complicity in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people War on Want is a membership organisation of people committed to social justice, in the UK and around the world. Our vision is a world free from poverty and oppression, based on social justice, equality and human rights for all. Our mission is to fight against the root causes of poverty and human rights violation, as part of the worldwide movement for global justice. www.waronwant.org Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is a UK organisation working to end the arms trade through public campaigning, lobbying, and direct action. In seeking to end the arms trade, CAAT’s priorities are: • to stop the procurement or export of arms where they might exacerbate conflict, increase tension or support oppressive regimes • to end all government support for arms exports • to promote progressive demilitarisation www.caat.org.uk The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) campaigns for peace and justice for Palestinians, in support of international law and human rights and against all racism. Help us to build the movement against Israeli apartheid and for a Free Palestine. www.palestinecampaign.org For information, resources and to take action: www.stoparmingisrael.org Preface 01 War on Want, Campaign Against Territories (OPT).2 This means that Arms Trade and Palestine Solidarity when the UK imports Israeli arms, Campaign call on the UK government it is helping Israel benefit from unlawful to implement an immediate two-way practices. Despite Whitehall’s official arms embargo to end all arms sales controls on arms exports, UK-made to and purchases from Israel. arms and military technologies continue Concretely, this means an immediate to be sold to and used by the occupying implementation of the following: Israeli forces. The value of licences awarded • The refusal of licences for exports to for export to Israel amounted to £11,615,840 Israel (directly or via a third country) for military use and £28,992,833 for dual where the end-user is the Israeli military (civil or military) use in 2014 alone.3 or military industry; Importing arms from and selling arms to • The revocation of any extant licences for Israel makes the UK complicit in Israel’s exports to Israel (directly or via a third continuing violations of human rights and country) where the end-user is the Israeli international law. military or military industry; • A ban on all arms imports from Israel; So long as the governments of the • A ban on UK government facilitation of world engage in arms trade with Israel, Israeli arms exports (such as by means Israel has no incentive to relinquish its of Israeli arms company participation in unlawful use of force and its illegal colonies UK arms fairs); in the OPT. This is why four Nobel Peace • A ban on collaborations between UK-based laureates – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, companies and the Israeli military or Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Maguire military industry, and any activity by and Rigoberta Menchú – together with the UK-based companies that supports the former UN Special Rapporteur on human infrastructure of Israel’s Occupation. rights in the OPT, Richard Falk, have accused the USA and the European Union of The Israeli assault on Gaza in July-August complicity in Israel’s crimes and have 2014, in which 2,205 Palestinians (including backed the call for an international 521 children) were killed, is only the most military embargo against Israel.4 recent example of Israel’s indiscriminate acts of violence against the Palestinian people.1 War on Want, Campaign Against Arms Trade Yet the United Kingdom continues to treat and Palestine Solidarity Campaign call on the Israel’s defiance of international law as, at UK government to terminate its support for best, an inconvenient detail to be worked the Israeli military. We encourage all readers around when making decisions on arms to help us end the UK’s complicity in Israel’s trade control. systematic violation of international law, both during its direct military offensives and on a Israeli military and industry sources openly daily basis as it maintains its Occupation of attribute the success of Israeli exports the land and people of Palestine. Please join to the weapons and technologies being us by taking the actions recommended ‘combat proven’ in the Occupied Palestinian at the end of this report. 1 UK complicity in Israel’s crimes 02 Israel has recently fought three noting the illegality of all Israeli settlement military campaigns in Gaza, during activity, declared that the Wall’s construction the winter of 2008-09, the winter ran contrary to international law and stated of 2012 and the summer of 2014. In that it should be dismantled immediately.6 addition, Israel has held Gaza under The UK continues to ignore the Advisory siege since 2007, effectively imprisoning Opinion of the ICJ in respect of the Wall, the Palestinian population of Gaza which says that: “All States are under an and limiting their supply of essential obligation not to recognize the illegal goods such as food, medicines and situation resulting from the construction of construction material.5 the wall and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such Aside from maintaining this siege and construction.”7 Despite this explicit call engaging in direct military attacks on Gaza, on states to end their involvement in the Israeli army’s primary ongoing task is to Wall-related activities, the UK has not taken enforce the Occupation of the Palestinian any steps in that direction. In fact, the UK land and people. In 2002, Israel began government continues to ignore the UK complicity in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people constructing a Wall in the Occupied West involvement of one of the UK’s largest Bank, purportedly to prevent terrorist corporations – G4S – in providing security attacks, but in reality enclosing its major equipment to checkpoints at the Wall, despite settlements and dividing Palestinian land, civil society campaigns highlighting the Arming Apartheid consistent with its policies of Apartheid. In company’s involvement.8 The provision of 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), security services and equipment by UK firms UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu © Crown Copyright 2014 Copyright © Crown 03 directly contributes to the oppression of What are the criteria used the Palestinian people and the continuation of the Israeli Occupation. In 2014, under to license arms exports? pressure from campaigners, G4S announced Arms exports licensing decisions are its intention to terminate some aspects of made on a case-by-case basis, using the its involvement in illegal Israeli settlements.9 Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Campaigners have vowed to continue to Licensing Criteria, adopted in October pressure G4S until it entirely ends its role 2000.13 In a 2013 parliamentary answer, with all aspect of Israel’s Apartheid regime. the then Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Michael Fallon MP, said that three In addition, the UK continues to export arms of the consolidated criteria were seen by the to Israel and to do business with the Israeli government as being particularly relevant arms industry. In the six months prior to the to exports to Israel.14 These were: attack on Gaza in the summer of 2014, the 1. Where there is a clear risk of the UK government granted licences worth equipment being used for “internal £6,968,865 for military-use exports and repression”; £25,155,581 for dual-use equipment.10 The licensed items included combat aircraft 2. Where the export would “provoke or components, drone components, anti-armour prolong armed conflicts or aggravate ammunition and weapon night sights.11 existing tensions or conflicts”; and Meanwhile, the UK’s Watchkeeper 3. Where there is a “clear risk that the surveillance drone has been developed under intended recipient would use the proposed a £1 billion joint venture contract awarded by export aggressively against another country, the Ministry of Defence to Thales UK and or to assert by force a territorial claim.” Israel’s Elbit Systems, allowing the UK military to benefit from technologies that have been It is notable that Fallon failed to mention ‘field tested’ on the occupied Palestinians.12 the criterion stipulating that the government will take into account the buyer country’s “respect for international law”. As regards UK exports to Israel those criteria that the minister did choose UK companies seeking to export arms and to highlight, there is a clear risk of any arms military technologies overseas must apply to exports to Israel being used for “internal the Export Control Organisation, part of the repression” or “to assert by force a territorial UK government’s Department for Business, claim,” given that control of the OPT is Innovation and Skills. The government has a core function of the Israeli military. In criteria against which arms export licence addition, continuing to supply Israel with applications are considered, which prohibit arms in spite of its behaviour clearly does the use of UK arms exports for internal “provoke or prolong armed conflicts or repression, external aggression or any other aggravate existing tensions or conflicts”. criminal behaviour overseas. In practice, If the government’s own export guidelines however, the controls are interpreted so were properly applied on a case-by-case weakly as to allow sales that violate the basis, the result would be a de facto criteria by any common sense definition. embargo on arms exports to Israel. 04 Table 1: Value of licences awarded for export from the UK to Israel since 201015 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Military £6,635,230 £4,720,249 £20,187,289 £10,042,185 £11,615,840 Dual Use £17,032,038 £15,106,969 £57,594,218 £7,817,749,617 £28,992,833 Official figures on the value of export goods with a value of £1.7 million were licences to Israel awarded by the UK approved for export.