British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron ruled out halting arms exports to Israel after an aerial tricycle in Gaza last week killed seven aid workers, including three Britons.

During a visit to the US on Tuesday, he claimed he had reviewed the latest legal advice commissioned by the government on the matter and that the UK’s position on export licenses remained “unchanged”.

But Cameron insisted the UK remained “gravely concerned” about humanitarian aid entering Gaza, adding that Israel’s promise of “substantial” aid to the area “needs to become reality now”.

There are growing calls for the UK to suspend all arms exports to Israel as the situation in Gaza continues to worsen, with officials in the region putting the death toll at around 33,000.

What are the rules for UK arms exports?

Defense companies that want to export weapons must obtain a license from the British government, and any exports must adhere to strict standards.

The standards were last revised in 2023, with Brexit cited as the main reason for the revision, but the main focus of each standard remains largely unchanged.

According to regulations, an arms export license cannot be issued or may be revoked if:

• These items clearly have the potential to be used to “perpetrate or assist” internal repression or serious violations of international humanitarian law.
• Taken together, these items clearly have the potential to undermine domestic, regional or international peace and security.
• These items may be used to commit or assist in the commission of offenses under international conventions or protocols to which the UK is a party.

Downing Street declined to publish the legal advice it had received on whether arms sales to Israel complied with the rules.

“We are obviously aware of the interest in this issue and we will always be transparent about our decisions on these matters, while respecting our long-standing practice of not issuing legal advice on these matters,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday.

How many weapons has the UK shipped to Israel?

Figures from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) show that since 2008, the UK has issued licenses worth £574 million to companies exporting to Israel.

The bulk of this comes from licenses awarded in 2017, totaling £221m, including one worth £182m.

Recent government figures also show that the UK issued 114 arms export licenses to Israel in 2022, worth £42 million.

But the government insists the UK’s contribution to the Israeli defense arsenal is “relatively small”, accounting for just 0.02% of the country’s arms imports.

Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) shows that the United States is by far Israel’s largest foreign arms supplier, accounting for 65.6% of its imported weapons, followed by Germany at 29.7% and Italy at 4.7%.

The US Senate also passed a bill in February to allocate an additional $14.1bn (£11bn) to Israel, including $4bn (£3.1bn) for the country’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems, as well as $801.4 million (£631 million) in ammunition purchases.

On top of this, the US has given Israel $3.8bn (£3bn) as part of a 10-year deal aimed at ensuring the country has a “qualitative military advantage” over its neighbours.

Can the UK ban arms sales to Israel?

The UK had previously suspended arms sales to Israel due to the Gaza conflict and temporarily revoked some licenses between 2014 and 2015.

Following the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Gaza, the government announced the suspension of export licenses for 12 items of equipment used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the ceasefire.

“The government is concerned that it will not be able to clarify whether export license criteria have been met if major hostilities resume. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, it will suspend these licenses,” the government said in 2014.

Licensing was reinstated in July 2015, with ministers stating that “there is now sufficient information from a variety of sources to apply the standard export licensing procedure… without any additional measures.”

Several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain and Belgium, have announced that they will cease arms sales to Israel.

The United Nations Human Rights Council also supported a ban on arms sales to Israel, with 28 countries voting in favor, six countries opposed and 13 countries abstaining.

Last week, 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court judges, warned that the British government could breach international law by continuing to allow arms exports to Israel.

In a letter to the government, they warned that the deteriorating situation in Gaza, coupled with the International Court of Justice’s conclusion that there was a “possible risk of genocide”, would oblige the UK to suspend arms sales to the country.

Signatories include former Supreme Court President Lady Hale, former Supreme Court justices Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, as well as nine other judges and 69 KCs.

On Wednesday, former foreign secretary Jack Straw said I The government must take action now due to Israel’s “inhumane” behavior in the war zone.

His call adds to pressure on Rishi Sunak and Lord Cameron after several Conservative MPs, a former national security adviser and the Lib Dems called for a halt to arms exports to Israel.