Two years on from Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza, which killed more than 2,200 people, John Hilary, Executive Director at War on Want, said:

"The UK government remains complicit in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people. In 2014, the year of Israel’s massacre in Gaza, the UK government licensed over £11.6 million worth of military equipment and arms components for export to Israel, with full knowledge of what those arms are used for.

"That summer, while our streets swelled with opposition to the brutal attacks, it was business as usual when it came to the UK and Israel trading weapons. Shamefully, in the four months following the attacks, the UK licensed a further £4 million of arms exports to Israel.

"Israel's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza are war crimes, made possible only through the continued financial, military and diplomatic support its government receives from Western states such as the UK. By continuing the arms trade with Israel, the UK government is giving material support to Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people.

"War on Want is calling for an immediate suspension of the arms trade between the UK and Israel."

Notes to editors

For further information and interveiws, please contact Ross Hemingway on +44 7983 550728.