LONDON (AP) – Britain’s main opposition party on Wednesday demanded that the Conservative government publish legal advice it received on whether Israel breached international humanitarian law during the Gaza war. They argue that Britain should ban arms sales to Israel if they break the law.
Britain is a staunch ally of Israel, but relations are being tested by the mounting death toll from nearly six months of war. Calls for a halt to arms exports have grown since an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, three of them British.
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David Lammy, foreign affairs spokesman for the main opposition Labor Party, said: “There are very serious accusations that Israel has breached international law.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addresses the media at Downing Street in London on March 1, 2024. Britain’s main opposition parties are calling on the Conservative government to publish legal advice it received on whether Israel breached international humanitarian law during the Gaza war. They argue that Britain should ban arms sales to Israel if they break the law. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
He called on the government to “publish legal recommendations now”.
“If there is a clear risk that British weapons will be used in serious breaches of international humanitarian law, then it is time to stop selling them,” Mr Lammy told the British broadcaster. Ta.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, one of Labour’s most senior figures, said: “I don’t understand the rationale for not publishing the legal advice they have received.”
“It is important that the UK government publishes legal advice so that we can be confident that it is also complying with international law,” Khan told reporters in London.
Two small opposition parties, the centrist Liberal Democrats and the pro-leave Scottish National Party, called on the government to halt arms sales to Israel.
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not commit to publishing legal advice, but said the UK follows a strict “set of rules, regulations and procedures” for licensing arms exports.
“Since the beginning of this conflict, I have consistently told Prime Minister (Benyamin) Netanyahu that we will of course defend Israel’s right to defend itself and its people from Hamas attacks, but Israel must do so in accordance with international humanitarian law. We have made that clear all along: Protect civilian lives – and sadly, too many have already lost their lives,” Mr Sunak told The Sun’s politics podcast. Ta.
