Britain is once again throwing itself around in the Middle East: After record sales of weapons to Israel, Prince William arrives at his first visit.

British defense companies earn a record amount of money from the sale of weapons and military hardware to Israel, according to data from anti-weapon activists

Newly published business data were discovered ahead of the royal trip to Israel in June. According to the Campaign Against Trafficking in Weapons (CAAT), arms manufacturing companies made at least 221 million pounds of profit ($ 294 million) in Tel Aviv deals last year. This is a significant increase from $ 86 million ($ 114 million) in 2016. Export licenses for Israel were made by the United Kingdom Government, which was followed by CAAT, and encompass a wide range of military equipment, from components of rockets and explosives to armored vehicles and weapons.

The news came a few days after Prince William announced the date of his upcoming trip to Israel and Palestine. He will arrive on June 25th and plans to travel to the capital city of Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, where the foundations of the Palestinian Authority are based. His tour will be the first official visit of the British prince to Israel. The visit will be held during mass protests in Palestine, which continue to be conducted for several months and resulted in a large number of victims. According to Human Rights Watch, the Israeli army killed more than 100 people in Gaza and injured more than 3,500 in a protest against the Israeli occupation, which began on March 30th.

The Israeli army's (IDF) behavior has attracted widespread criticism by local and international human rights groups and humanitarian organizations for the use of genuine ammunition to suppress protests. IDF blames the Palestinian Hamas organization for bloodshed and insists that all victims were members of terrorist groups in order to infiltrate across the Gaza and Israel border to attack Jewish troops and civilians.

A high number of Palestinian victims have prompted several British politicians to demand from the government to cease selling military equipment to Israel and urge the head of the Labor Party Jeremy Corbin to call for a revision of arms sales to the Middle East in April. It is not the first time that the issue of arms sales has caused dissatisfaction with British politics. Athletes fighting arms trade often fight against government agreements with countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, who regularly face charges of violating human rights.

One such recent protest took place in April in London, and last year, activists tried to disrupt the largest British arms fair.

• 29 May, 2018
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