F-35 Aircraft: Israel
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to continue issuing licenses for F-35 fighter jet components that are sold indirectly to Israel through an intermediary country on human rights in (a) Gaza and (b) the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Mr Douglas Alexander
The F35 programme has a significant dependence on the UK, which provides unique and critical components. At the present time, any suspension of F-35 components to Israel through the programme is not possible without undermining the programme overall, and the government’s judgement is that this would have a significant negative impact on international peace and security. Therefore, at the present time, exports to the F-35 programme are excluded from the current suspension of export licences. We are keeping this under close review.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has set out this decision in further detail to the House in his written ministerial statement on 2 September 2024: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-09-02/hcws64
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