Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing Israel from the list of approved recipients for the Open General license.

Following the decision by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on 2 September 2024 to suspend licences related to use by Israel in the current military operations in Gaza, a number of open general export licences were amended. Further detail on the affected licences can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202420-suspension-of-licences-for-israel.

The OGEL for exports in support of the F-35 programme has been amended to exclude exports direct to Israel. Any broader suspension with respect to this OGEL is not possible without undermining the programme overall, which would have a significant negative impact on international peace and security.