Lawyers call on UK to end arms sales to Israel

LONDON — The British government is coming under escalating pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel after the strike on a convoy in the Gaza Strip that killed seven aid workers, including three Britons. More than 600 lawyers and retired judges sent a letter to the government, arguing that the sales violated international law.

Citing the risk of famine among Palestinians, a potential Israeli military assault on the city of Rafah, and a finding of the United Nations’ top court that there was a “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza, the lawyers urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “suspend the provision of weapons and weapons systems” to Israel.

“Serious action,” the 17-page letter sent Wednesday concluded, “is moreover needed to avoid UK complicity in grave breaches of international law, including potential violations of the Genocide Convention.”

Among the signatories are Brenda Hale, a former president of Britain’s Supreme Court; Jonathan Sumption and Nicholas Wilson, former justices on the court; and dozens of the country’s most prominent lawyers.

Sunak has hardened his criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war in recent weeks, while stopping short of punitive measures. On Tuesday, he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that the strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy, in which the three Britons were killed, was “appalling.”

But Sunak has not signaled he is considering a halt to arms sales. Speaking to The Sun, a London tabloid, on Wednesday, he said: “We’ve always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to. There are a set of rules, regulations and procedures that we’ll always follow.”

Britain’s arms trade with Israel is nowhere near that of the United States. Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, told Parliament that British exports to Israel totaled 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022, a figure he described as “relatively small.” It sells parts for military aircraft, assault rifles, and explosive devices. Under a 10-year agreement reached in 2016, the United States provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel.

But the strike on the aid convoy has provoked fury across Britain, dominating the front pages of newspapers and TV news broadcasts. The family of one of the three British victims, John Chapman, said in a statement: “He died trying to help people and was subject to an inhumane act.”

Other allies of Israel are also facing calls to cut off the supply of weapons and to push for a cease-fire in the conflict, which has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.