Nearly 70,000 people have signed the petition calling on the United Kingdom (UK) government to halt arms exports to Israel.
The petition, launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and a cross-party group of British lawmakers, was handed into 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, April 16.
This coincides with remarks made by Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, who said, “The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it.”
According to the government’s arms export guidelines, it “will not grant a license if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
On Monday, April 15, Labour MP Zarah Sultana questioned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about whether Kearns accurately reported Israel’s violation of international humanitarian law.
“Was the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee telling the truth – yes or no?” Sultana asked Sunak, who refused to deny that the Foreign Office had received such legal advice. “Israel is committed and capable of complying with international humanitarian law,” Sunak said.
Over 1000 lawyers, academics, and retired judges, including former Supreme Court President Baroness Hale, have signed an open letter stating that the UK’s continued arms supply to Israel violates international law.
Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Spain, and Belgium have halted arms shipments to Israel, while UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has confirmed the UK’s continued arms sales.
Ben Jamal, PSC Director, said,
“Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians and its attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iran prove that arming it not only makes the UK complicit in violating international law but also in the sparking of a regional war with catastrophic consequences.”
“Continuing to arm Israel cannot help the cause of peace or justice in the Middle East. Any government truly committed to upholding international law does not sell weapons to a state that continually breaches it.”
A protest against arms sales to Israel is scheduled to occur outside Parliament on Wednesday, April 17.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said that over 33,000 Palestinians were killed since Israel’s attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023, 70 percent women and children, with most infrastructure destroyed and UN warnings of famine imminent.
