Home Europe UK Judges Urge Britain To Halt Arm Sales To Israel

UK Judges Urge Britain To Halt Arm Sales To Israel

Three former Supreme Court justices have joined more than 600 members of the British legal profession in calling for the government to halt arms sales to Israel, saying it could make Britain complicit in genocide in Gaza.

Echoing the growing number of opposition politicians who have called for a halt to British arms sales, the three justices joined other barristers, former judges and legal academics in urging Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to change policy.

Sunak has faced growing political pressure after seven aid workers, including three British nationals, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the besieged enclave this week.

โ€œThe provision of military assistance and material to Israel may render the UK complicit in genocide as well as serious breaches of International Humanitarian Law,โ€ the judges and barristers said in a 17-page letter.

โ€œCustomary international law recognises the concept of โ€˜aiding and assistingโ€™ an international wrongful act.โ€

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the allegations of genocide โ€œoutrageousโ€, and said Israel has an โ€œunwavering commitment to international lawโ€.

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One of the former justices, Jonathan Sumption, told BBC Radio he was concerned the British government had lost sight of its need to prevent genocide.

Britain sells explosive devices, assault rifles and military aircraft to Israel but it is a relatively small supplier, with Israeli exports making up about 0.4% of Britainโ€™s total global defence sales in 2022, the last full-year data was available.

The lawyers cited the fact that the International Court of Justice had in January ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention, plus the growing fears about famine.

Sunak has resisted calls to immediately halt weapons sales, saying the country has a โ€œvery careful licencing regimeโ€ which it will continue to adhere to.

But the killing of aid workers has ratcheted up international pressure on Israel nearly six months into its siege and invasion of the Palestinian enclave that was triggered by Hamasโ€™ October 7 assault on southern Israel.

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israelโ€™s military has voiced its โ€œsincere sorrowโ€ over the airstrikes and pledged an independent investigation.