Pressure increases to stop arms sales to Israel: 600 academics ask London to stop exports to avoid “genocide”

In a 17-page letter, former UK Supreme Court judges including former president Lady Hale along with 600 lawyers, retired senior judges and academics They warned the British government that “is violating international law continuing to arm Israel”, a country that has already been warned by the International Court of Justice not to violate genocide laws.

In the document, delivered exclusively to the newspaper Caretakerthey ask end of exports “to prevent genocide”.

They warn of genocide

Three former Supreme Court justices, including former Chief Justice Lady Hale, are among the signatories. The letter became known after three British and military veterans were killed in Gaza, along with 4 other aid workers, in an attack with three Israeli missiles, while they were distributing humanitarian aid from the Spanish NGO. Central World Cuisine.

In the letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the signatories, including former appeal court judges and more than 60 KCs (The king’s advice or counselors of the King), say so The current situation in Gaza is “catastrophic”. They explain that, given the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision that “yes”, there is a plausible risk that genocide will be committed, the U.K. is legally obligated to take action to prevent this.

A document with a legal opinion

The 17-page letter, which also is equivalent to a legal opinion, was sent Wednesday afternoon and reads: “While we welcome your government’s increasingly strong calls for a cessation of fighting and the unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, we at the same time continue (to give two striking examples) selling weapons and weapons systems to Israel and continues to threaten to suspend UK aid to the UNWRA it falls significantly short of its government’s obligationsaccording to international law,” they wrote.

The warning from magistrates and lawyers comes as Conservative MPs stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act after Monday’s attack on a humanitarian convoy in Gaza.

Party sources believe Foreign Secretary David Cameron has pushed the government to toughen its approach towards Israel. But met resistance in Downing Street to take it forward.

Three Conservative MPs and a former minister now in the House of Lords said “the UK should stop exporting weapons to Israel after the airstrike”.

The results of a YouGov poll, conducted before the attack, suggested that the government and the Labor Party They are not in tune with public opinion and its feelings. A majority of voters (56% to 17%) support a gun ban on Israel.

Since 2015, UK arms sales to Israel have been on the rise at least £489 million in military exports. This includes parts for fighter planes, missiles, tanks, technology, small arms and ammunition.

In the UK, MPs have called on the government to consider revoking arms export licenses to Israel over the ongoing conflict with Hamas. Several MPs raised the issue with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade during oral questions on 30 November 2023. Labor MP Zarah Sultana also led a debate on arms exports to Israel on 12 December 2023. The SNP called on the government to suspend exports. licenses to Israel.

Other organizations, such as Campaign against arms trade AND Safer worldthey also call on the UK to stop arms exports to Israel.

Ceasefire and sanctions on people

The letter from the former judges and lawyers asks the government to do so work towards a permanent ceasefire. It calls for imposing sanctions “on individuals and entities that have made statements inciting genocide against Palestinians.”

Says restore funding to UNRWA – the United Nations agency that distributed aid to refugees (withdrawn after Israel’s as yet unconfirmed allegations that 12 staff members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were involved in the October 7 attacks) – it is necessary “the entry and actual distribution the livelihoods of Palestinians in Gaza and, by extension, the prevention of genocide.”

Regarding Israel’s armaments, the British signatories argue: “The International Court of Justice’s conclusion that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza has put its government on notice that the weapons could be used on its behalf and that the suspension of their supplies it is, therefore, a “means to deter” and/or “a measure intended to prevent” genocide.” A legal and solid argument to prevent the government from continuing to sell weapons to Israel, especially for the spy plane that tours Gaza.

Pressure from the conservatives themselves

Conservative MPs David Jones, Paul Bristow and Flick Drummond, and Conservative Lord Hugo Swire, have called for a suspension of arms exports to Israel. It was after Peter Ricketts, who was the government’s national security adviser during David Cameron’s time as prime minister and now sits in the House of Lords, expressed similar sentiments.

Drummond, MP for Meon Valley, said: “This has worried me for some time. What worries me is the prospect that UK weapons are used in Israel’s actions in Gaza, “I believe they violated international law.”

Lord Ricketts told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think there is now ample evidence that Israel has not taken sufficient care in meeting its obligations for the safety of civilians. And a country that obtains weapons from the UK must respect international humanitarian law. “This is a condition of the arms export license,” he said today.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has warned that by refusing to stop arms sales to Israel, “the UK risks being complicit in the killing of innocent civilians”.

Big names among the signatories

The importance of the letter lies not only in the number of signatories but in the fact that was signed by retired senior judges, who normally they avoid commenting publicly on politically sensitive topics.

Prominent signatories include former Supreme Court justices Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, former appeal judges Sir Stephen Sedley, Sir Alan Moses, Sir Anthony Hooper and Sir Richard Aikens, and the former president of the Bar Association English and Wales, Matthias Kelly KC.

“The UK must act immediately to put an end, by legal means, to acts that create a serious risk of genocide. Failure to fulfill its obligations under the Genocide Convention to be adopted all measures to prevent genocide that were within their reachwould result in UK State liability for the commission of international damages, for which full compensation will have to be offered,” the magistrates warn in a legal document.

The letter goes further – and has a more prominent list of signatories – than the previous one sent to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October, regarding the government’s obligations to prevent and avoid complicity in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.

Significant elements for jurists

He says there have since been “significant developments” regarding the situation in Gaza. These include the provisional orders issued by the International Court of Justice and the worsening situation in Gaza, with at least 32,623 Palestinians killed by the Israeli offensive, the “imminent famine” caused by Israel’s blockade of aid, the destruction of health facilities , the murders of healthcare and humanitarian personnel, workers and reports of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

One of the signatories, Phillippa Kaufmann KC, said: “The fact that so many senior members of the UK legal profession are speaking out so forcefully to urge the Government to act on its legal obligations demonstrates the depth of our concern Of clear evidence of serious human rights violations and violations of international law in Gaza.”

The letter also calls on the government to continue to “make every effort” to secure the release of Israeli hostages, captured in the October 7 attacks in which Hamas and other militant groups killed around 1,200 people in Israel.

Israel violated humanitarian law

The UK government has refused to publish its legal advice on the matter. But a leaked recording suggests his own lawyers tipped him offand “Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza.”

There has been pressure within the Conservative Party to end exports. MPs Flick Drummond, David Jones and Paul Bristow urged the Government to reconsider the issue.

Lord Hugo Swire, a former MP turned Conservative MP, also wants exports to stop in the current climate. He served as a minister in the Foreign Office under David Cameron.

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “The Government should publish any legal advice it has on whether Israel has breached international law and suspend arms sales if there is a risk that the weapons could be used in “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. “

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this to The Sun tabloid on Wednesday evening Gun licenses kept under “careful” review in compliance with “rules and procedures that we will always follow”.