by Lily Wood, Valentin Herdeg, Lara Arekat, Abigail Towle
Despite calls by UN experts and numerous NGOs for an arms embargo to Israel, the British government continues to enable the trade of weapons and military equipment, which, for example in the case of the F-35 fighter jet, are being used to commit war crimes in Gaza. There exists a legal and moral responsibility for Britain to join Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands and immediately stop the export of arms to Israel.
It is imperative that the Israeli government understands that her allies cannot support the mass killings it is responsible for in Gaza, and the way to promote that is to increase support for an arms embargo from a rights and security for all perspective.
A growing awareness amongst the British public that their government is complicit in inflicting war crimes and human rights abuses in Gaza. Such awareness must transform into political pressure on MPs and the British government to immediately stop the export of arms to Gaza.
As an outcome, a briefing for MPs will make the overly technical language of international law more accessible. It will offer an easier understanding of the legal implications of Britain’s arms exports to Israel in light of the serious risk of breaching the Arms Trade Treaty and the Genocide Convention.