British arms exports to Israel reach record levels as NGO continues legal challenge over licences

The value of weapons imported by Israel from the UK reached record levels in 2025, new data shows, with an NGO announcing that it will take the issue of the UK’s weapons licences to Israel to the Court of Appeal.

Israeli customs data, cited by Channel 4, has revealed that Tel Aviv imported almost £1 million worth of British munitions in the first nine months of the year.

The figure is double the amount it had imported over the last three years, despite mounting international outrage over Israel's brutal war on Gaza, which has killed over 67,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

Channel 4’s fact-checking programme revealed that Israel imported more than £400,000 worth of weapons from British companies in June 2025, making this the highest monthly figure since regards started in January 2022.

It also revealed that September was the second-highest month on record, with more than £310,000 worth of British munitions of the same category arriving in Israel.

The data did not specify the exact nature of the weapons, but said that the categories included bombs, grenades, torpedoes, rockets and ammunition.

The data also did not reveal who the end users of the munitions were, however, reports note it is likely that these weapons were intended for Israeli companies and could be re-exported to other countries.

Both the British and Israeli governments did not respond to Channel 4’s request for further details on the specific shipments.

However, the UK government said it "does not export bombs or ammunition for use by the IDF in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank".

The data was based on an analysis of 8 million lines of customs data issued by the Israel Tax Authority, dated between January 2022 to September 2025.

The latest findings come despite the British government stating in September last year that it had suspended 29 licenses for the export of arms to Israel, which it believes "may be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law".

As of July, around 347 permits for arms exports to Israel were still in action, of which 167 are classified for military use.

In June 2025, a British High Court ruled that the export of spare parts for F- 35 Israel is legal in accordance with the constitutional context and defensive considerations, a decision which was widely criticised by rights groups.

Rights group Al-Haq announced on Wednesday that it is continuing its legal challenge against the UK’s licensing of weapons to Israel before the Court of Appeal.

In a press release, the rights group called on activists and civil society members to join them outside the Royal Court of Justice during their request for an appeal hearing in their ongoing legal challenge against the UK government’s licensing of weapons to Israel.

Al-Haq has criticised the June 2025 court ruling stating it could not find any legal flaws in the British government’s decision-making process around the licensing of F-35 parts into the global supply, declining to rule on the UK government’s assessment of genocide.

"This exposes a gap in the accountability framework, raising the question: to whom is the UK government accountable in matters of international law, and who ensures that its obligations under domestic law and the Geneva Conventions, including its duty to prevent genocide, are met?" the organisation said in a statement.

"We call on all those in solidarity with Al-Haq and the Palestinian people to join us at the Court of Appeal to demand an end to the UK’s export of arms components to Israel, and to stand for justice and accountability in the face of the ongoing silencing and sanctions imposed on Palestinian human rights organisations," it added.