The UK’s navy collaboration with Israel throughout its assault on Gaza, in addition to its assist by way of arms provisions, logistical support, and direct navy interventions in Yemen to assist Israel’s targets, might represent a breach of worldwide legislation, a brand new report reveals.
The report, launched on Tuesday by the British Palestinian Committee (BPC), says whereas the UK authorities has not been instantly perpetrating violence in Gaza, it has “performed an influential position” by way of the validation of arms licences and wider, deeper navy collaboration with Israel.
UK-made F-35 components, despatched on to Israel and different companion nations for meeting, have performed a big position 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 duties to uphold worldwide legislation”, it’s actively complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian individuals, the report stated.
Moreover, whereas the British navy has equipped Israel with these vital elements, it has additionally developed a deeper navy collaboration with Israel.
“This two-way partnership helps Israeli corporations within the improvement 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 navy bases in Cyprus have served as a “foundational asset” for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Alongside its direct navy intervention in Yemen, the UK has protected Israel’s navy infrastructure throughout its escalation towards Iran, the report stated, specializing in the UK’s navy becoming a member of efforts to protect Israel’s navy 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 no less than 13 individuals, together with two Syrian civilians.
“UK ministers and officers know that the UK has obligations below 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, subsequently, calling on the federal government to right away impose a two-way arms embargo, finish all types of navy collaboration, and uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian individuals. If not, the British authorities ought to face applicable authorized penalties.”
UK’s official coverage, outlined in its Strategic Export Licensing Standards, says it is not going to grant an arms export licence “if it determines there’s a clear danger that the gadgets could be used to commit or facilitate a critical violation of worldwide humanitarian legislation”, stated the group.
In April 2024, six months into the struggle on Gaza, then-International Minister David Cameron stated the UK wouldn’t halt arms gross sales to Israel by British corporations. He defended his choice a month later by claiming that they signify “lower than 1 %” 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 critical 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 a limiteless quantity and worth of products.
Within the 19-page report, the BPC concluded that the UK is legally obligated to take measures to forestall genocide and to prosecute people or entities accountable for committing such acts, each inside its personal jurisdiction and, the place possible, internationally.
The group additionally burdened that the duty of states to forestall genocide is a proactive relatively than a passive motion and entails the idea of “due diligence”, necessitating an evaluation primarily based on factual proof.
In 2022, the UK equipped 42 million kilos ($53m) value of arms to Israel, in accordance with media experiences.
