Over 600 legal experts, including three former Supreme Court justices, have penned a letter to the UK government demanding an end to weapons sales to Israel. Concerns have arisen over the “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza and the possibility of the UK breaking international law. The pressure is also mounting after the death of seven aid workers, which Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has called intolerable.
Although UK arms sales are lower than those of other nations such as Italy and Germany, they provide added diplomatic pressure on Israel at a time when others are scrutinising their conduct in the Gaza conflict.
The formidable list of signatories on the letter has drawn much attention, with Lady Hale and Lord Sumption among those demanding “serious action” is needed to avoid complicity in grave breaches of international law.
The UK has sold over £574m worth of weapons to Israel, according to Campaign Against Arms Trade, since official country-level data was made available in 2008. The Labour Party is calling for the release of internal legal advice on whether Israel is in breach of international law rather than a suspension of sales. Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy believes this may convince the UK government to suspend sales, a move which Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair have both made in the past.
The SNP is asking that Parliament is recalled from Easter break to address the issue, but former home secretary and Conservative MP Suella Braverman rejected the notion of a ban, stating that walking away from their closest ally in the region would be a tragic shame
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