MP leads call to suspend all arms exports to Israel

The Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, Steve Witherden, held a Parliamentary debate on British arms sales to Israel last night, calling on the government to suspend all arms exports to ensure the UK is not complicit in what is largely being called as ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

This was the first time a debate on arms sales to Israel had been held in the Commons Chamber since the onslaught on Gaza began in 2023.

It follows the Foreign Secretary last month calling Israeli military action in Gaza “morally unjustifiable” and “monstrous” while suspending trade talks and sanctioning several West Bank settlers.

Mr Witherden, leading the adjournment debate, told the Commons: “The Government have claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse.

“Children are emaciated or dying of hunger, hospitals have been intentionally destroyed and Israel’s leaders vow to wipe out Gaza, and still the weapons flow, so finally, Minister, where is our red line?

“I call on this Government to suspend all arms exports to Israel, to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel’s brutal plans to annex, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population.

“The credibility of this House depends not just on what we condemn, but on what we enable, and history will remember that we enabled too much.”

He asked detailed questions of the government, under which single and incorporation licences have increased both since taking office and following the September 2024 suspension of 30 out of 350 export licences.

These included:

• A request that the government publish its most recent assessment of the risk that Israel is committing genocide
• A request that the government publish an exact list of export licences still in effect, and whether a new decision has been reached on continued arms sales since September 2024
• How the government defines a weapon as ‘defensive in nature’
• Why the government has not suspended F-35 component shipments after admitting a “clear risk” of violations of international law

MPs from across the House took part in the debate, with Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, SNP, DUP, and Independent members all intervening.

The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander MP, responded on behalf of the government, highlighting that it was not selling F-35 components directly to the Israeli authorities.

Mr Alexander told the Commons that the UK’s F-35 component exports were part of a global programme that was essential in the defence of NATO allies and maintaining European security.

The debate came as more than 765,000 people globally (and over 48,000 UK citizens) signed a viral open letter from Avaaz calling on the Prime Minister to sanction Israel and let aid reach Gazans, with the United Nations warning that the entire population was at risk of starvation due to Israel blocking most aid into Gaza and killing civilians at aid distribution hubs.