ANTI-ARMS campaigners have urged the government to “correct the record” and end arms sales to Israel after the country’s use of F-35 jets — worth billions to supplier Lockheed Martin — throughout the Gaza genocide was confirmed.

Tel Aviv’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said that Israeli pilots’ flight hours on the F-35 were “greater than that of all the pilots of the other foreign countries that were partners in developing the aircraft.”

He added: “When I visited there a few weeks ago, [Lockheed Martin’s] CEO told me that Israel’s information and developments ‘are worth many billions to my company’.”

The comments completely contradict the British government’s insistence that Israel is a “minor customer” of the global F-35 programme, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (Caat) pointed out.

Britain makes 15 per cent of the warplane. Israel has 48 F-35s, with 27 more on order.

On January 21, Declassified UK reported that three new F-35s had been transferred from RAF Mildenhall to Israel.

The country has also used the weapon in air strikes against Iran, Lebanon and Yemen.

Despite extensive evidence of Israel’s F-35 use provided to the government, ministers have repeatedly downplayed the Israeli role.

“The UK government has stopped direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel,” Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer wrote this month.

“The only exception is for the global programme, of which Israel is a minor customer.”

A Caat spokesperson said: “Israel is plainly not a minor customer for the F-35 programme…

“No other country has used the F-35 jet at near the rate that Israel has, let alone in two years of active combat. This cannot be overstated.”

The spokesperson added that the comments made by Lockheed Martin and US and Israel officials over the last two and half years “go beyond illustrating passive greed.”

“Israel’s attack was immediately identified as an unprecedented opportunity by the F-35 programme to collaborate with the IDF [Israeli military] and take the data generated by Palestinian suffering and death to test, develop, market and sell the jet,” they said.

“We call on the UK government to correct the record and admit that Israel is the key customer of the F-35 programme.

“We call on the government to immediately halt all transfers of F-35 parts to Israel.”

The Department for Business & Trade was approached for comment.