Written by Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) – Three former Supreme Court justices have joined more than 600 British lawyers in calling on the government to halt arms sales to Israel, saying Britain could be complicit in genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Joining a growing number of opposition politicians calling for a halt to UK arms sales, the three judges joined other barristers, former judges and legal academics in urging Chancellor Rishi Sunak to change policy.
Mr Sunak faces mounting political pressure after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers, including three British nationals, in the besieged enclave this week.
“Providing military aid and supplies to Israel could make the UK complicit in genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law,” the judge and barrister said in a 17-page letter.
“Customary international law recognizes the concept of “aiding and abetting'' internationally wrongful acts.''
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the genocide allegations “outrageous” and said Israel had “unwavering commitment to international law.”
One former judge, Jonathan Sumption, told BBC Radio he was concerned that the British government had lost sight of the need to prevent genocide.
Britain sells explosives, assault rifles and military aircraft to Israel, but the supplier is relatively small, accounting for about 10% of Britain's total global defense sales in 2022, the last full year of data available. Exports from Israel account for .4%.
Lawyers cited the fact that the International Court of Justice in January ordered Israel to refrain from acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention, as well as growing concerns about starvation. .
Sunak resisted calls for an immediate halt to arms sales, saying the country had a “very careful licensing system” and would continue to abide by it.
However, approximately six months have passed since Israel's siege and invasion of the Palestinian enclave sparked by Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, and the killing of aid workers has further increased international pressure on Israel. .
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip's health ministry. The Israeli military expressed “deep sadness” over the airstrike and pledged to conduct an independent investigation.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
