Over 600 legal experts, including three former Supreme Court justices signed a letter Thursday demanding the UK halt its arms sales to Israel amidst the escalating conflict in Gaza.
At the heart of their 17-page plea is an accusation: the UK’s ongoing arms trade with Israel may violate international law due to a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, as indicated in a provisional judgment by the International Court of Justice.
In the letter, the experts argue that ceasing sales could exert significant diplomatic and political pressure on Israel, especially now as its actions in Gaza draw global scrutiny. Among the prominent signatories is former Supreme Court President Lady Hale, advocating for “serious action” to prevent UK complicity in potential international law breaches.
The call to action comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces intensifying pressure, underscored by the recent deaths of seven aid workers in an Israeli air strike.
Speaking to the BBC, former Supreme Court judge Lord Jonathan Sumption explained the logic of the letter’s argument and why he signed the letter:
I thought that it was a persuasive and moderately expressed letter, which makes some very important points that the UK government seems to be losing sight of. The most important point is that Article 1 of the Genocide Convention requires states to do what they can to prevent genocide. Now, it hasn’t yet been determined whether what the Israelis are doing is genocide. The ICJ, International
Court of Justice, is considering that issue. But they have already ruled that there is a plausible case that that is what is going on in Gaza. And it seems to me that if you have a duty, as we do, under international law, to prevent genocide, and there is a plausible case that that is what is happening, you should do what you can to obstruct it.
Adding to the controversy, the deaths of seven aid workers, including three Britons, in Gaza have amplified calls for a reassessment of the UK’s arms export policies. Sunak has advocated for an independent investigation into the strike, while Israel, denying allegations of genocide and promises its own probe into what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed an “unintended” tragedy.