‘We sell weapons to Israel that may kill our citizens... it’s hard to comprehend’
THE family of one of the British aid workers killed in the Israeli drone strike yesterday slammed the Government for selling weapons to Israel that can be used to kill UK citizens.
Devastated relatives of James Henderson also said they do not believe Britain “will hold the correct people to account” for the “inexcusable” death of their loved one.
Tragic ex-Royal Marine James, 33, and his fellow military veterans, John Chapman, 57, and James Kirby, 47, were killed along with four other people while they were working for charityWorld Central Kitchen in Deir Balah, central Gaza.
James’s brother, who did not want to be named but spoke on behalf of the family, said: “Accountability is the only hope of justice I have...I don’t believe our Government will hold the correct people to account.
“But I guarantee our Government will sell weapons to Israel, which may in turn be used to kill our fellow citizens. It’s hard to comprehend that.
“I feel this is inexcusable behaviour, to kill my brother and his colleagues on a humanitarian mission. Our thoughts are with the suffering people who have been deprived of basic humanitarian needs.
Ignore
“It’s unacceptable for our world leaders to ignore this gross miscarriage of justice.”
He spoke after more than 600 British lawyers urged the Government to suspend arms sales to Israel.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, they warned the UK could be complicit in “grave breaches of international law” if it continued to ship weapons.
The signatories, including exSupreme Court President Brenda Hale, said Britain was legally obliged to heed the International Court of Justice’s conclusion that there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza.
And they told the PM the sale of weapons and weapons systems to Israel “falls significantly short of your government’s obligations under international law”.
Former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt said Mr Sunak would “do well to take note of” the lawyers’ letter.
And he urged the Government to “scrutinise very carefully what it is doing in terms of supplying equipment to Israel to make sure we are staying on the right side of the law”.
“It is not just a legal issue. There is a major moral issue here too which the atrocious attack...which killed seven aid workers really underlines,” Lord Dannatt told Sky News.
Britain is an ally of Israel, but relations have been tested by the mounting death toll in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people, mostly civilians, are believed to have been killed.
New images yesterday revealed the almost total destruction of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital and area around it as a result of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Tory Peer Nicholas Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill, backed calls for the UK to stop arming Israel following the air drone killings.
He said: “Something has gone very, very wrong, and the Israelis need to really get a grip of all this.”
And Conservative MP Mark Logan called for a review of the UK’s arms exports to Israel.
But their party was becoming engulfed in a furious row – after a former foreign minister accused two Tory peers of “exercising the interests of another country”.
Sir Alan Duncan told LBC radio the Conservative Friends of Israel group was “doing the bidding” of the country’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
He also called for two members – Lord Polak and Lord Pickles – to be “removed” from the Lords.
Sir Alan went on to claim senior
Tories, including Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, should be sacked for backing Israel. A spokesman for the Conservatives later told the radio station: “Following his comments on LBC this morning, Alan Duncan has been informed in writing that he is under investigation by the party.”
Harmful
But Sir Alan said: “Should they choose to pursue this, they should not be surprised if it rebounds on them massively and proves dangerously harmful to their...reputation.”
Meanwhile, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it was “absurd” to suggest Israel has
been indiscriminately killing civilians. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the country had gone “above and beyond” to limit casualties and ensure aid gets to Gaza.
But US President Joe Biden yesterday told Mr Netanyahu his future support for Israel’s war in Gaza would depend on “an immediate ceasefire”. After the leaders spoke by phone, the White House said Mr Biden had urged Israel to “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers”.
The President also urged the Israeli PM to reach a ceasefire deal “without delay”.