UK gov’t urged to open talks with US to remove Israel from F-35 supply chain

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A Labour Party lawmaker on Tuesday urged the British government to open discussions with the US on removing Israel from the global supply chain of the F-35 fighter jet program amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

Speaking at a House of Commons session, Andy McDonald noted that Israel cuts off northern Gaza from essential supplies, while it continues to strike Palestinian civilians and demand their displacement.

On the recent Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced civilians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza where Palestinian civilians were burnt to death, he said that it shows "there's nowhere safe to go."

"The sight of a patient on an IV drip burning to death in the flames of an airstrike on the tents of refugees will be the abiding image of this genocide,” McDonald said.

At least four people were killed and 40 others injured when Israeli warplanes hit a courtyard at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, burning dozens of tents as displaced Palestinians slept.

"400,000 or so civilians left without food or supplies in northern Gaza are increasingly subject to airstrike, artillery, and small arms fire from Israeli forces,” he added.

Saying that 11,500 children have been killed in Gaza in a year, the lawmaker underlined that this equals "one classroom full of children every day for a single year."

He also touched on the Israeli strikes that killed civilians in Lebanon as well as the attack against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"I acknowledge the Foreign Secretary's (David Lammy) call to Israel and all parties to uphold their obligations, but repeatedly calling on Israel to uphold their obligations has no impact, unless forced to change," stated McDonald.

"A partial arms embargo has not stopped the attacks on civilians ... surely that has to be extended,” he added.

- 'Recognition of Palestine is prerequisite for peace, not by product of it'

Referring to the government's written answer to him that the US government manages the sale of F-35 aircraft to Israel and the F-35 global supply chain, the 66-year-old politician asked the government to take action to protect civilians in Gaza.

"I asked the government to open discussion with the US to remove Israel from the end use destinations of the F-35 global supply chain," said McDonald, Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East.

On peace efforts, he noted that there are many partners for peace in the region but their efforts are rejected by Israel.

"So, given recognition of Palestine is a prerequisite for peace and not a byproduct of it, is it not now time to join the global majority in doing so,” he urged.

In response, Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said the footage from the hospital attack is "very disturbing," and the government looks "very closely" at all of those reports.

"We are concerned by all reports, and we will continue to take very seriously our responsibilities when it comes to conducting IHL (International Humanitarian Law) assessments in that case, or indeed in relation to any other such case,” she said.

Reiterating the government's position regarding the attacks on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Dodds said that they were appalled to hear that UN peacekeepers have been injured by Israeli fire and they condemn the attacks on UN peacekeepers.

On Sunday, UNIFIL said two Israeli tanks “forcibly entered” a Blue Helmet position in the town of Ramyeh in southern Lebanon in a series of violations and attacks by Israeli military that injured several peacekeepers.

On the recognition of Palestinian statehood, she said: "The UK is working with partners to support a path to long-term peace and stability with a two-state solution at its heart, that means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."

Dodds added: "And we want to be clear, Palestinian statehood is the right of the Palestinian people. It is not in the gift of any neighbor, and it's also essential to the long-term security of Israel."

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims Hezbollah targets killing more than 2,000 people, injuring thousands, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.

The aerial campaign was an escalation in yearlong cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 42,000 people, mostly women and children.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.