Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's policy towards UK arms trade with Israel in complying with Criterion 2a and Criterion 2c of the Strategic Export Licencing Criteria.

The Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control system. We will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law. The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to carefully consider the impact of the export of items and their capabilities.  As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he ordered a review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law, which concluded that there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. On 2 September 2024 we suspended export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.