Campaigners have staged a demonstration outside Ronaldsway Aircraft Company, raising concerns about the production of components for F-35 fighter jets.

Members of Amnesty International Isle of Man and supporters of Caarjyn Phalestine gathered at the site on Saturday, September 20. A letter addressed to company managers was handed in during the protest.

The groups said they were opposing the manufacture of F-35 parts which, they claim, are used by Israel in military operations in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Their letter stated: ‘These aircraft are being deployed daily over the Gaza Strip and are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Palestinians including women and children.’

The campaigners alleged that the jets have been used to bomb hospitals, refugee camps and residential areas. They said components made in the island were vital to keeping Israel’s fleet of F-35s operational.

The letter added: ‘We are profoundly concerned, and indeed ashamed, that parts of these killing machines are being made on Manx soil. We believe your company is prioritising sales over the lives of innocent people, and in so doing is complicit with war crimes.’

Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), a UK organisation, has previously published details of British companies involved in the F-35 programme. It lists Ronaldsway Aircraft Company, part of the RLC Group, as a manufacturer of titanium fuselage components and fan blades.

The Isle of Man Government has said it relies on the UK’s Export Control Joint Unit to regulate arms exports. It has received assurance that RLC holds the necessary licences, but is not made aware of the specific programmes island-based companies are working on.

Concerns about the issue have also been raised in Tynwald. Earlier this year, Douglas East MHK Joney Faragher asked Chief Minister Alfred Cannan whether parts made on the island were being exported to Israel.

He replied that export licences are controlled by the UK authorities and that the Isle of Man must comply with those regulations.

Mr Cannan said: ‘We should be immensely proud of our engineering sector and the skills that are employed therein. We are compliant with the standards that are applied in terms of the Export Control Joint Unit.’

He added that the F-35 was a global programme with strategic importance for NATO and not limited to one country.

But Ms Faragher pressed him on whether legality alone was sufficient when ethical concerns were raised. She asked whether the island should seek its own advice in light of international humanitarian law.

In response, the Chief Minister said: ‘If she wants to stop jobs and manufacturing in the island then that’s her business. It’s not my intention to impact on local families and local skills. I fully expect Isle of Man businesses to fully comply with export licence requirements and all these parts she is referring to are fully under the control of the Export Control Joint Unit.’

No response has yet been issued by Ronaldsway Aircraft Company to the concerns raised during Saturday’s protest.