London, 31st July 2026 – The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has written to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Defence, Wes Streeting, regarding his previous public statements concerning Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the commission of war crimes.  

After resigning as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in May, Streeting publicly stated that he had grounds to believe that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza. He also expressed his frustration that these concerns were being dismissed when raised around the Cabinet table and stated that the United Kingdom had both a moral and legal responsibility to respond to the horror unfolding in Gaza.  

In his new role as Defence Secretary, this now makes Streeting the first Cabinet member to have made public their view that the Israeli government has committed war crimes during the genocide in Gaza.  

ICJP’s correspondence to Secretary Streeting makes clear that his recent appointment to lead the Ministry of Defence now presents an important opportunity to translate those concerns into action, particularly given the role of the Defence Secretary who is responsible for the UK’s defence relationships, military cooperation, and engagement with the international defence industry.  

Despite this, one of Streeting first actions as Secretary was to attend the recent Farnborough International Airshow, which platformed three of Israel’s largest arms manufacturers – Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries – who exhibited their military and security technologies in the UK. These companies supply arms and military equipment to the Israeli military and have been linked to Israel’s military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, which have been the subject of extensive allegations of violations of international law. 

Elbit Systems’ presence is particularly troubling. The company’s Hermes drones have been implicated in the April 2024 attack in Gaza in which British aid workers John Chapman, James Kirbyand James ‘Jim’ Henderson, alongside their colleagues, were killed. At the same time, footage of what appeared to be a Hermes drone was displayed prominently at Elbit’s stand, alongside air-to-ground missiles.  

This is difficult to reconcile with Streeting’s previous assessment that Israel was committing war crimes, and it is now reasonable to ask what has since changed and what Streeting now intends to do as Defence Secretary.  

The letter also highlights that the Government’s current approach to arms exports remains fundamentally inadequate. While around 30 export licences were suspended, this represented only a small fraction of the UK’s overall arms licensing relationship with Israel. Crucially, the Government retained the F-35 exemption, allowing the continued export of components for fighter jets used by the Israeli Air Force, including in attacks on Gaza such as the July 2024 strike on Al-Mawasi that reportedly killed 90 Palestinians. 

Órlaith Roe, ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said: 

“Before entering government, Wes Streeting said publicly that he believed there were grounds to conclude that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza and that the UK had both a moral and legal responsibility to respond. As Defence Secretary, he is now in a position to act on those convictions. If those statements were sincere, they must now be reflected in government policy.  

That means ending all UK arms exports and military cooperation with Israel, including the F-35 carve-out, ensuring the UK’s defence relationships comply with international law, and using his position in Cabinet to press for a response that matches the scale and gravity of the violations that have been documented. The question is no longer what he believes, but what he is prepared to do.” 

ENDS 

Notes for Editors: 

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.   

For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected]. 

Image: UK Prime Minister via Wikimedia Commons