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Elbit: UK awards Israeli arms firm first contract since 7 October [1]

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Date: 2024-02 

The UK government has been accused of being “totally complicit” in the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Gaza after handing a fresh round of public cash to the British arm of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit.

A Ministry of Defence contract dated 17 January represents the first time Britain has struck a deal with Elbit’s UK subsidiary since Israel laid siege to Gaza following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

Elbit reportedly supplies up to 85% of Israel’s drones and land-based military equipment, describing its Hermes 450 drones – which have been used by Israel for strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza in recent months – as “the backbone of the Israeli Defence Forces”.

The arms firm’s chief executive, Bezhalel Machlis, said in November that it had “ramped up” its weapons production “in support of the Israel MOD [Ministry of Defence] and Israel’s security forces”.

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Such actions mean the UK government must end all involvement with Elbit, said Samuel Sweek, a spokesperson for Peace and Justice Project, a UK-based campaign group founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Sweek told openDemocracy: “Awarding contracts to Israeli arms manufacturers such as Elbit, whose products are being used in the genocidal destruction of Gaza, shows an unrepentant and reprehensible attitude at the top levels of the British government.

“Until they shut down the war machine, call for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine, they remain totally complicit in the deaths of over 30,000 innocent men, women and children in Gaza.”

Elbit’s Systems UK has won 25 public contracts, totalling more than £355m, since 2012, according to data supplied by Tussell, which provides details on UK government contracts.

Its latest contract, which is worth £25,000, was awarded four days after thousands marched through central London to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as part of a global day of action last month.

The contract was to deliver training and simulation to American, Lithuanian and NATO military personnel as part of ‘Exercise Furious Wolf’, which focuses on aerial warfare against ‘hostile targets’.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/elbit-systems-israel-arms-uk-government-contract-ministry-of-defence-7-october/

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