UK breaking own rules to arm Israel, says independent report
Israel-UK, Politics, 5/21/2007

The British government has flouted its own guidelines over the past 10 years by supplying military equipment to Israel, according to an independent report on Labor's record on arms trading published today.

The non-governmental organization, which works to prevent armed violence and create safer communities, found that the British government risked breaching its own guidelines on at least three grounds by exporting military equipment to Israel.

These included equipment that might be used for repression; sales that could exacerbate regional tensions, as exampled by Israel's invasion of Lebanon last year; and the Israeli attitude towards international law.

"But despite all these, the UK has licensed more than 110 million pounds ($ 210m) of military equipment to Israel under Labor," the report found.

Saferworld said that the UK did appear to tighten issuing licenses after it was discovered that Israel was in breach of written assurances not to use British equipment in the occupied territories, when using modified Centurion tanks in 2002.

But after an increase in the number of licenses refused and revoked in subsequent years, "in 2006 the number of authorizations reached 2002, the most since 2001," it said.

In the past four years, Israel was found to have been supplied with a range of equipment critical for offensive operations such as components for combat aircraft, including F16s, combat helicopters, and airborne electronic warfare as well as armored vehicles.

Britain was also found to have allowed an Israeli company to advertise electro-shock batons and leg-irons in brochures at a UK arms fair.

Saferworld said that during its term in office, Labor has rewritten the UK's export control laws and shown real leadership internationally.

But its record of "good" official policies have "too often been undermined by competing agendas or "bad" implementation, with the consequence that there has been too much 'ugly' practice," it said.

Claire Hickson, the NGO's head of Advocacy and Communications, suggested that there was "no better time" for the government to improve its controls and ensure better enforcement with Gordon Brown set to replace Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"The change in leadership and the current review of the Export Control Act present an ideal opportunity for the government to redeem its ultimately disappointing record on arms exports," Hickson said.

Previous Stories:
  UK official defies ban on Hamas; to press boycott end of Palestinians   (5/7/2007)
  UK doctors call for boycott of Israeli Medical Association   (4/23/2007)
  Abbas meets Blair   (2/21/2007)

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