Three former Supreme Court justices and over 600 legal experts have called for the UK government to end arms sales to Israel, citing the risk of breaching international law. The letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which includes former Supreme Court president Lady Hale, states that "serious action" is needed to avoid UK complicity in grave breaches of international law, including potential violations of the Genocide Convention. The sale of arms and weapons systems to Israel falls significantly short of the government's obligations under international law and warns of a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza.
The growing calls for the suspension of UK export licenses come after seven aid workers were killed in a series of air strikes in Gaza on Monday. The UK has licenced arms to Israel worth over £574m since 2008, according to pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). The Labour Party has not called for a suspension but is urging the government to publish internal legal advice on whether Israel is in breach of international law.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said there was "precedent" for suspending sales, with former PMs Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair taking the move in 1982 and 2002 respectively. The SNP is calling for Parliament to be recalled from its current Easter break to debate the issue. Conservative MP Paul Bristow said the idea British-made arms could be used in action that kills innocent civilians in Gaza "turns the stomach," adding that the deaths of British aid workers "must be a line in the sand."
More than 32,916 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
