As Israeli forces advance into southern Gaza, killing a growing number of Palestinians, now estimated at nearly 18,000, and making for catastrophic living conditions for those who remain, it is imperative for the UK to have
a sober assessment of its obligations under international law, given its role as a significant supplier of arms and components to Israel.
It is clear that UK-supplied weapons and components are being used
by Israeli forces. In this light, it is all the more remarkable that the parliamentary committees on arms export controls (CAEC) have no plans to convene to scrutinise UK arms export policy. Since the Department for International Trade and its attendant select committee morphed into the Department for Business and Trade in February this year, the CAEC has
lost its chair, Mark Garnier MP, as well as other members from the trade select committee.
We have written to the chairs of the business, defence, international development and foreign affairs committees, calling on them to convene the CAEC, elect a new chair, and hold an inquiry into UK-manufactured weapons used in Israel-Palestine as a matter of urgency.
Martin Butcher
Policy Adviser on Arms, Conflict and IHL, Oxfam
Helen Close
Research Associate, Omega Research Foundation
Katie Fallon
Advocacy Manager, Campaign Against Arms Trade
Roy Isbister
Head of Arms Unit, Saferworld
Iain Overton
Executive Director, Action On Armed Violence
Oliver Sprague
Programme Director, Military Security and Police, Amnesty International UK
Anna Stavrianakis
Director of Research and Strategy, Shadow World Investigations
Enyseh Teimory
Head of Policy, United Nations Association-UK
