The UK trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt agreed on new export guidelines covering British components that would be incorporated in weapons systems sold on to third countries, in this case Israel.

BAE Systems, Britain's largest arms company, supplies head up display units (HUDs) for the F16s to be to be sold to Israel. This new move contravenes existing policy of refusing to issue export licenses for equipment if it could be used against the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Moreover, this move contravenes the EU Code on Arms Export.

British equipment is used in Israeli tanks and attack helicopters, the main weapons used against the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israeli Merkava tanks have been equipped with British cooling systems made by the British Airtechnology Group. British equipment is also used in US Apache helicopters supplied to Israel.

As LAW has recorded serious abuses over the past year, evidence of British arms being used by the Israeli armed forces highlights the need to make the fledgling EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports effective. The Israeli use of British arms against the Palestinian civilian population contradicts a written assurance that the Israeli government provided Britain on November 29, 2000 that 'no UK-originated equipment nor any UK- originated systems, sub-systems (or) components are used as part of the Israel army's activities in the territories.'

Britain is not the only EU member state that trades arms with Israel. Germany, France and the Netherlands are also major arms traders. LAW believes that the deteriorating human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be foremost on the minds of European officials when they carry out their reviews of the EU Code of Conduct for Arms Exports.

Criteria include respect of human rights in the country of final destination; in particular, member states should 'not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression', including, inter alia, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, summary or arbitrary executions, arbitrary detentions and other major violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms as set out in relevant international human rights instruments.

Other criteria include the existence of tensions or armed conflicts, and whether there is a clear risk that the intended recipient would use the proposed export aggressively against another country or to assert by force a territorial claim. In particular with regard to respect for international law, one of the criteria of the EU Code of Conduct includes 'its compliance with its international commitments, in particular the non-use of force, including under international humanitarian law applicable to international and non-international conflicts'.

LAW believes that Israel's record is inconsistent with the criteria provided in the EU Code of Conduct. Export licences should therefore be refused.

Taking into account the volume and gravity of human rights violations and breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, including acts of war crimes, that have been documented by LAW, and the volume of Israeli forces and military equipment stationed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and since there is no common system of monitoring the end-use of European arms by the Israeli forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, only a full arms embargo will prevent European arms from being used to commit war crimes and other human rights abuses. The European Union, therefore, should renew its arms embargo against Israel.