The Guardian, Large quantities of British arms and internal security equipment are being sold to Israel despite the government's public criticism of the country's human rights record and growing violence there, the Guardian can reveal.
Export licences for weapons are being cleared even though Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, has admitted that Israel has breached assurances that British equipment would not be used in the occupied territories. Exports approved by the government this year cover categories including leg-irons, electric shock belts and chemical and biological agents such as tear gas. They also include categories covering mortars, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, military explosives, and infrared and radar sensors.
The hitherto undisclosed arms sales are revealed in a letter from Nigel Griffiths, the minister for export controls at the Department of Trade and Industry, to Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman.
The Foreign Office says in its annual human rights report that it is “deeply concerned at the impact that the continuing Israeli occupation and the associated Israeli military operations have had on the lives of ordinary Palestinians”.
It says “both Israel and the Palestinian terrorist groups have shown a worrying disregard for human rights”.
The report specifically refers to British arms exports. It says: “The outbreak of the intifada, the continued Israeli incursions in the occupied territories and the breach of Israel's 2000 assurance that UK-originated equipment would not be used in the occupied territories, have all been factored into the UK government's export licensing policy.”
The human rights report also refers to four Britons who lost their lives or were seriously injured in the past year as a result of the continuing crisis. Yoni Jesner was a victim of a suicide bomb in Tel Aviv in September. Iain Hook, an engineer, was shot by the Israeli army in the Jenin compound where he worked in November 2002. Thomas Hurndall, a peace activist, was shot in Rafah, Gaza, in April this year, while trying to shield Palestinian children. James Miller, a British journalist, was shot and killed in Gaza in May, while filming the destruction of Palestinian homes.
According to the government's arms control guidelines, exports will be blocked “if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression”. The guidelines say licences will not be issued “for exports which would provoke or prolong armed conflicts or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts in the country of final destination.” Weapons exports will also be banned “if there is a clear risk that the recipient would use the proposed export aggressively against another country, or assert by force a territorial claim.”
Mr Campbell said last night: “The credibility of our contribution to the peace process in the Middle East can only be damaged if we say one thing and do the other.”
The government told the Commons last month that Britain “has not sold main equipment such as tanks, aircraft, warships or artillery to Israel since May 1997”.
The DTI said last night: “Since the outbreak of violence in the occupied territories in September 2000, the government has taken account of Israeli military tactics in its licensing decisions and keeps the situation under close review.”
