Jeremy Corbyn Demands UK Government Answers on Arms Exports to Israel Amid Gaza Genocide

London (Quds News Network)- Former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a letter on Wednesday to the UK Foreign Office demanding answers regarding what role the country is playing in assisting Israel’s military amid the ongoing Israeli genocide war in Gaza.

Corbyn’s letter specifically highlighted British army bases and asked whether the UK will continue supplying Israel with weapons and if it is using the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus as a route for those weapons shipments.

Akrotiri, near Limassol in southern Cyprus, is one of two military sites retained by the British military under the 1960 treaty that saw the island gain independence from colonial rule.

Monitors and media reports say Britain is supplying Israel’s army for its war in Gaza from military bases in Cyprus.

Corbyn also demanded answers on whether or not the UK would suspend the licences of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel.

“I remain astounded by your government’s admission that it is making an exception to the UK’s legal obligations. The Foreign Secretary has accepted the fact that F-35 jets are being used in violation of international humanitarian law. By justifying the continued licensing of F-35 jet parts, your government is admitting its complicity in war crimes,” the letter said.

I have written to the Foreign Office asking them to tell the truth about RAF Akrotiri and arms exports to Israel.

We deserve to know the full scale of our government’s complicity and participation in genocide. pic.twitter.com/KEBZzJP8CJ

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 8, 2025

In September 2024, the UK suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel following a review under the new Labour government which found that British-made weapons may have been used in the violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Arms campaigners and rights advocates who have pressed for a full suspension of arms sales to Israel for months welcomed the decision, but criticised the continued export of F-35 fighter jet components which one called “a workhorse of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign”.

The suspension, announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy in parliament, covers components for other types of military aircraft, including fighter planes, helicopters and drones. Around 320 other licences, including for items for civilian use, remain in place.

British-made components comprise 15 percent of all F-35 fighter jets. But Lammy said that parts for F-35s, used in a multi-national programme, were not among the items suspended which would “undermine the global F-35 supply chain that is vital for the security of the UK, our allies and Nato”.