The UK’s army collaboration with Israel throughout its assault on Gaza, in addition to its help via arms provisions, logistical support, and direct army interventions in Yemen to help Israel’s targets, might represent a breach of international law, a brand new report reveals.
The report, launched on Tuesday by the British Palestinian Committee (BPC), says whereas the UK authorities has not been immediately perpetrating violence in Gaza, it has “performed an influential function” via the validation of arms licences and wider, deeper army collaboration with Israel.
UK-made F-35 parts, despatched on to Israel and different companion international locations for meeting, have performed a major function in sustaining the Israeli jets for fight by contributing to the worldwide pool of spare components, which Israel can entry.
In taking such actions, the UK just isn’t “merely failing to satisfy its third-party tasks to uphold worldwide legislation”, it’s actively complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian folks, the report stated.
Moreover, whereas the British army has provided Israel with these vital elements, it has additionally developed a deeper military collaboration with Israel.
“This two-way partnership helps Israeli firms within the growth of know-how that’s used to kill Palestinians and deepens collaboration between the British and Israeli militaries,” the report stated, including that the British army bases in Cyprus have served as a “foundational asset” for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Alongside its direct army intervention in Yemen, the UK has protected Israel’s army infrastructure throughout its escalation towards Iran, the report stated, specializing in the UK’s army becoming a member of efforts to defend Israel’s army infrastructure from an anticipated Iranian response in April 2024.
This got here after Israel bombed an Iranian consulate constructing in Syria’s capital Damascus, killing at the least 13 folks, together with two Syrian civilians.
“UK ministers and officers know that the UK has obligations underneath worldwide legislation,” Sara Husseini, BPC director, instructed Al Jazeera.
“They’ve recognised that Israel’s unlawful occupation is ongoing they usually have been made conscious by the world’s highest court docket that Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly quantity to genocide.
“We’re, due to this fact, calling on the federal government to instantly impose a two-way arms embargo, finish all types of army collaboration, and uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian folks. If not, the British authorities ought to face acceptable authorized penalties.”
UK’s official coverage, outlined in its Strategic Export Licensing Standards, says it won’t grant an arms export licence “if it determines there’s a clear danger that the objects may be used to commit or facilitate a severe violation of worldwide humanitarian legislation”, stated the group.
In April 2024, six months into the struggle on Gaza, then-Overseas Minister David Cameron stated the UK would not halt arms sales to Israel by British firms. He defended his resolution a month later by claiming that they signify “lower than 1 p.c” of Israel’s arms imports.
In September 2024, the UK suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, citing a “clear danger” that they could possibly be utilized in severe breaches of worldwide humanitarian legislation.
Since then, the British authorities has issued 34 arms export licences to Israel, together with three open licences which permit the export of an infinite quantity and worth of products.
Within the 19-page report, the BPC concluded that the UK is legally obligated to take measures to stop genocide and to prosecute people or entities answerable for committing such acts, each inside its personal jurisdiction and, the place possible, internationally.
The group additionally pressured that the duty of states to stop genocide is a proactive moderately than a passive motion and entails the idea of “due diligence”, necessitating an evaluation primarily based on factual proof.
In 2022, the UK provided 42 million kilos ($53m) price of arms to Israel, in keeping with media studies.
