MINISTERS are facing calls to investigate whether British-made weapons have been used by Israel in its ongoing massacre in Gaza, and if they are implicated in war crimes. 

The British government has licensed more than £400 million worth of arms to Israeli forces since 2015, including drones, missiles and warplanes, according to Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). 

Britain is also home to four arms factories owned by Israel’s largest private arms firm, Elbit Systems. 

CAAT called for an arms embargo between the two nations today as Israel’s brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip entered a second week. 

At least 198 people, including 58 children, have been killed in the densely populated enclave, with Amnesty International recently warning that war crimes have probably been committed in Gaza. 

CAAT said that many of the weapons and components licenced by Britain are the types of arms likely to be used in the ongoing bombardment.  

British arms have previously been implicated in atrocities against the Palestinian people.

A government review found that 12 licences for arms were probably connected to Israel’s 2014 bombardment of Gaza.  

CAAT’s Andrew Smith said that there must now be a full investigation into whether British weapons have been used during the current onslaught, and if they are implicated in war crimes. 

“For decades now, successive governments have talked about their commitment to peace-building, while continuing to arm and support Israeli forces,” he said. 

“These arms sales do not just provide military support, they also send a clear sign of political support for the occupation and blockade, and the violence that is being inflicted.”

Amnesty International UK’s military, security and policing programme director Oliver Feeley-Sprague echoed calls for a full review into British arms sales in the region and an immediate halt to all military exports to Israel.

“In particular, UK ministers must say whether UK technology is still being used in the Israeli military drone programme - something that came to light as long ago as 2006 but is still largely shrouded in secrecy," he added.

In 2009 Amnesty also reported it had found evidence that engines powering Israeli drones used in Gaza were being manufactured at a factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, owned by Elbit Systems. 

The factory has recently been targeted by direct action group Palestine Action, which aims to shut down Elbit’s operations in Britain. 

One of the group’s co-founders Huda Ammori told the Star that the drones giant has been building weapons in Britain for over a decade. 

“Amnesty International has in the past called for an arms embargo, citing Elbit System’s factory in Shenstone, yet [Britain] continues to supply Israel with arms,” she said.

“We need more than an investigation — we need urgent action to shut all the factories down.”

A government spokesperson said: “We have been clear that the ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. We want to see an urgent cessation of hostilities and calm restored.

“The UK operates one of the most comprehensive export control regimes in the world and rigorously assesses all export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria.
“We will not issue any export licences where to do so would be inconsistent with these criteria.”