Campaigners have written to the directors of 20 UK arms companies, warning them of potential criminal liability for failing to prevent war crimes if they continue arms sales to Israel, reports Middle East Eye on June 20.
Four campaign groups, including Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), addressed the directors of British arms companies supplying F-35 fighter jet parts used by Israel’s air force in its ongoing war on Gaza.
The letter cautioned that they could face “potential criminal liability for atrocity crimes currently taking place in Gaza”.
The F-35 stealth fighter jets, heavily deployed in Israel’s war on Gaza, are manufactured by Lockheed Martin in the US with the help of international partners, including British factories supplying essential components to build the warplanes.
In addition to the British arm of Lockheed Martin, the targeted companies include the British arms firm BAE Systems, which manufactures 13 to 15 percent of each jet, and the US company Northrop Grumman.
Citing a section in the 2001 International Criminal Court Act, the letter explains that it is illegal under British law “to engage in ‘conduct ancillary’ to a war crime or a crime against humanity” in foreign jurisdictions.
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