Lawyers Urge U.K. Government to Halt Arms Sales to Israel

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces mounting pressure to halt arms sales to Israel after the Gaza aid workers’ attack. Pressure mounts on Sunak to cease weapon sales to Israel following an airstrike that killed seven, including three Britons. The incident spurred renewed ethical scrutiny. On Thursday, more than 600 lawyers, legal academics and former members of the British judiciary wrote to Sunak, warning him that “serious action” is needed to “avoid UK complicity in grave breaches of international law, including potential violations of the Genocide convention.”

“While we welcome the increasingly robust calls by your government for a cessation of fighting and the unobstructed entry to Gaza of humanitarian assistance,” the letter says, “simultaneously to continue (to take two striking examples) the sale of weapons and weapons systems to Israel and to maintain threats of suspending UK aid to UNRWA falls significantly short of your Government’s obligations under international law.”

Activists and human rights groups have echoed the lawyers’ plea, urging an end to U.K. arms sales to Israel. They contend that these deals perpetuate violence and hinder efforts for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Furthermore, they encourage the U.K. government to ponder the ethical ramifications of its arms exports and actively foster diplomacy.
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