Tim Stickings
The National / September 3, 2024
Britain joins European countries limiting exports to Israel but vast US firepower limits their influence
Britain’s announcement of a partial arms embargo on Israel leaves the Israeli military more dependent than ever on backing from its top suppliers, the US and Germany.
The UK has joined countries including Canada, Spain and the Netherlands in curbing weapons sales, amid pressure from the UN, domestic voters and pro-Palestinian campaigners.
Each country exported weapons worth tens of millions of dollars to Israel in 2023, while some also contributed parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel.
Germany, the second-biggest arms supplier to Israel, says exports that amounted to €326.5 million ($354.4 million) last year have dwindled since the war’s early weeks.
But European sales are overshadowed by US support for Israel, which was recently boosted by $26 billion and includes munitions from the Pentagon’s stockpile.
What Israel stands to lose in arms imports
________
Recent military exports to Israel by countries considering their arms sale policy
Country – exports to Israel – current policy
Germany
$354.6m in 2023
Case-by-case decision
Spain
$48.2m in Q1-Q2 2023
No new licences since Oct 7
Britain
$23.4m in 2023
Some licences suspended
Canada
$22.2m in 2023
No new licences since Jan 8
Belgium
At least $18.8m in 2023
Some licences suspended
Netherlands
$11.9m in 2023
Sales blocked by court order
Italy
$10.8m in 2023
No new licences since Oct 7
Sources: German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action; Spanish Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business; UK Export Control Joint Unit; Global Affairs Canada; Parliament of Wallonia; Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Italian Senate.
____________
A tally used by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which gives greater weight to bigger and more advanced weapons, shows the US and Germany providing 99 per cent of Israel’s arms imports from 2019 to 2023.
The figures are confused by the multi-country assembly of F-35 jets, existing Israeli orders being honoured, and parts being temporarily sent to Israel for re-export. Activists have also raised concerns about complex multinational supply routes. Israel says arms embargoes amount to “calls of support for Hamas”.
_____________
Arms sales limited
UK
Policy on Israel: Britain’s new Labour government announced on Monday that 30 of 350 arms export licences to Israel would be suspended, after a legal review.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the policy was not a “blanket ban”, but there was a “clear risk” of breaching the laws of war. Pressure had been building for months, with a poll for The National revealing in June that 54 per cent of British adults supported an arms ban.
Exports to Israel: The UK approved licences worth £18.2 million ($23.4 million) last year. It granted 42 licences for military equipment from October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, to the end of May.
The UK is also a significant contributor to making the F-35 and the fighter jet parts were exempt from Mr Lammy’s announcement.
Netherlands
Policy on Israel: A Dutch court blocked the sale of F-35 parts to Israel in February, ruling there was a “clear risk” of humanitarian violations.
Judges say ministers have abided by the ruling, although a new right-wing Dutch government with a pro-Israel stance recently took power.
Exports to Israel: Eight export licences for Israel were granted in 2023 with a value of €11.1 million ($11.9 million), including thermal-imaging cameras, radars and naval equipment.
Two more licences were granted in January, when the figures were last updated. The Netherlands also exports parts for F-16 planes, which Israel uses.
Spain
Policy on Israel: Spain’s Foreign Ministry announced in February that no arms sales to Israel had been approved since October 7.
In May, it went further still by announcing any ship carrying weapons to Israel would be banned from docking at Spanish ports.
Exports to Israel: Spain’s most recent figures show it granting licences worth €44.4 million in exports to Israel in the first half of 2023.
In February, campaigners flagged export data showing a military sale worth €987,000 in November 2023. Officials said it was test ammunition under an old licence.
Canada
Policy on Israel: Canada has not granted new export licences for Israel since January 8, “given the rapidly evolving situation”, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says.
According to trade officials, older permits that remain valid with respect to Israel are for the sale of “non-lethal goods”.
Exports to Israel: Canada last year exported military goods and technology worth $22.2 million to Israel, official figures show.
It issued 193 permits. The most valuable exports fell into the categories of “bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, other explosive devices” and “electronic equipment”.
Italy
Policy on Israel: Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in January that a decision was made at the outbreak of the Gaza war not to export weapons to Israel.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has since conceded that previously signed orders have continued, but they “did not concern materials that could be used against civilians”.
Exports to Israel: Arms control database SIPRI lists Italy as the third-biggest arms exporter to Israel between 2019 and 2023, behind the US and Germany.
Trade data for 2023 shows exports to Israel worth €9.9 million which officials said was similar to 2022.
Belgium
Policy on Israel: Decided at regional level. French-speaking Wallonia says its policy is not to strengthen Israel’s military. It suspended two licences to explosives company PB Clermont in February.
Dutch-speaking Flanders has the same policy. The Belgian government has lobbied for an EU-wide ban on arms sales to Israel.
Exports to Israel: Wallonia’s exports in 2022 amounted to €1.8 million, including gunpowder, explosives and aviation parts, but Israel was not their final destination, the regional government has said.
Flemish licences approved in 2023 added up to about €17.3 million. Here too, authorities said, the parts were exported temporarily or not ultimately destined for Israel.
Norway
Policy on Israel: Norway has a policy of not exporting arms to war zones. It has relaxed this rule with regard to Ukraine, but not Israel.
Officials have asked ammunition maker Nammo and aerospace company Kongsberg to do “due diligence”, amid claims of indirect links between Norway and Israel.
Exports to Israel: No weapons exports in 2022 or 2023, according to official trade statistics.
Some protective gear was sold to an Israeli landmine clearance company called Opms – Open Minded Solutions.
Arms sales continue
Denmark
Policy on Israel: Denmark says it has a “very restrictive” policy on military exports to Israel, but has not stopped them altogether.
It is contesting an attempt in court by campaigners including Amnesty International to block arms sales to Israel.
Exports to Israel: Denmark is another contributor to the F-35 program.
Since it joined the program in 2002, Danish industries have received orders worth $1 billion from US defence giants Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.
Germany
Policy on Israel: Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany “has delivered weapons to Israel and has not made any decision to stop doing so”.
Defending its policy before the International Court of Justice in April, Germany said it makes a “painstaking assessment” of each licence.
Exports to Israel: Germany is Israel’s second-biggest arms supplier. In 2023 it approved export licences worth €326.5 million.
It told the ICJ that only four licences granted since October 7 concerned “war weapons”, of which one was a consignment of anti-tank weapons and three were for test ammunition.
US
Policy on Israel: The US does not merely allow manufacturers to sell arms to Israel, but provides weapons such as artillery shells directly from its own stockpiles.
President Joe Biden has withheld some heavy-payload bombs amid a rift over Israel’s offensive in Rafah, but has resisted calls for a wider arms embargo.
Exports to Israel: Biden signed a $26 billion package of aid for Israel in April that includes funding for the Iron Dome air defence system.
As Israel’s biggest political and military backer, its support includes missile interceptors, artillery ammunition and precision-guided munitions. A 10-year agreement running until 2028 commits the US to spend $3.3 billion a year on military financing and $500 million on missile defence.
Tim Stickings – Reporter, London
