Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me recently about UK arms exports to Israel.

I believe strong export controls have a vital role to play in sustaining a legitimate trade in arms and the Government has a responsibility to ensure that arms are only sold for legitimate defensive purposes.

There is no doubt that Israel faces several significant security challenges and, like any country, has the right to self-defence.  However, any use of force must be proportionate and there are too many cases, including incidents in Gaza highlighted by the recent UN Commission of Inquiry, where Israeli forces may have acted in violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). This is not acceptable.

As a country, I believe it is important that we implement our arms export controls to the highest standard and act when exports might be used in violation of human rights or IHL.

The Government often emphasises that the UK has some of the most robust arms export controls in the world and it is ultimately the Government’s responsibility to make sure they are being enforced properly. The Government says that all export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and that it monitors closely the situation in Israel and Gaza.

I believe a meaningful and lasting peace can be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians and that this can only be achieved by a peaceful two-state solution in the Middle East. I follow developments closely and I will continue to press the Government on the action is it taking on this issue.

Thank you once again for writing to me and for sharing your views.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP