UK expands Israel arms export ban from 30 to over 80 licences - report

The UK government has suspended or refused more than 80 export licences for items that could be used by the IDF in Gaza, up from roughly 30 licences suspended when restrictions were first introduced in September 2024, the Jewish Chronicle reported. More than 50 new applications have been refused since then.

The government continues to approve licences that meet its "Strategic Export Licensing Criteria," with all licences kept under review.

Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty said additional measures introduced on September 8, when the government classified the occupation as illegal, tightened restrictions further. "The new decisions that we took on September 8 mean there's effectively now a double lock on arms exports. They have to be considered both in relation to the existing conditions that we set in relation to international humanitarian law violations," Doughty said.

British components in the international F-35 fighter jet program remain largely exempt from the restrictions, though direct F-35 exports to Israel have been halted. Doughty defended the exemption, saying pulling British-made spares from the global F-35 supply chain "would potentially have very serious implications to the whole program" and is "crucial to our security and that of our allies."

Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Emily Thornberry pushed back, arguing the UK could continue supplying the F-35 program while marking components as barred from use in aircraft sent to Israel, similar to an approach used by the Netherlands.

The expanded restrictions follow a broader shift under Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government toward a more confrontational stance on Israel.