The United Kingdom will not halt arms sales to Israel by British companies after reviewing the latest legal advice on the matter, Foreign Minister David Cameron has said.
Six months into the Israeli assault on Gaza, triggered by the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has come under heavy pressure to revoke licences that allow arms exports to Israel.
“And as ever, we will keep the position under review.” Britain supplied 42 million pounds ($53m) of arms to Israel in 2022.
Cameron said Britain continued to have “grave concerns around the humanitarian access issue in Gaza”.
He defended the decision not to publish the legal advice on arms export licences.
He said it was an important principle that ministers act consistently with legal advice without making it public.
“On the contrary, what we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel about any Rafah operation,” Blinken said, adding that he expected the talks would continue next week.
Blinken also said the US is continuing to work closely with Qatar and Egypt on a potential ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Foreign Minister David Cameron has stated that despite reviewing the most recent legal advice on the subject, the United Kingdom will not stop arms sales to Israel by British companies.
After the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which started the Israeli assault on Gaza six months ago, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is under intense pressure to cancel the licenses allowing arms exports to Israel.
“We maintain our stance on export licenses based on the most recent assessment. At a press conference with his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Cameron stated, “This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received.”.
“As always, we will continue to assess the position. “.
Israel received $53 million (42 million pounds) in arms from Britain in 2022.
In an effort to prevent Britain from becoming involved in the genocide in Gaza, three former senior UK judges last week joined more than 600 other members of the legal community in demanding that the government stop selling arms to Israel.
Opposition political parties in Britain have demanded that the government revoke the export licences, call back Parliament from its current holiday, and make public the legal advice that the government relied upon to arrive at its decision.
Kristyan Benedict, crisis response manager for Amnesty International UK, said, “This was yet another missed opportunity from David Cameron to move himself and other UK officials away from their current complicity in Israeli war crimes, apartheid, and possibly genocide.”.
Regarding its attack on Gaza, Israel refutes any war crimes or genocide that may have occurred, and it opposes the label of “apartheid” for its treatment of Palestinians.
Palestinian authorities claim that since October 7, Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in at least 33,360 deaths and 75,993 injuries.
According to an Al Jazeera count based on Israeli statistics, at least 1,139 people were killed in an attack on southern Israel on October 7 by the Palestinian organization Hamas, which prompted Israel to launch the operation.
“Serious concerns regarding the humanitarian access issue in Gaza,” according to Cameron, remain for Britain.
The choice to withhold the legal counsel regarding arms export permits was justified, he said. Speaking privately, he said that ministers should follow the important rule of acting in accordance with legal advice.
He declared, “The overall ruling is that those export licenses will stay open and continue.”.
Israel claims to have scheduled a date for a military assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, where over a million Palestinians who have been displaced by the Israeli assault have sought safety. This coincides with his visit to the United States.
Blinken stated on Tuesday that he anticipates discussions about a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah to occur between US and Israeli officials the following week.
Despite Washington’s warning not to proceed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Monday that Rafah must be entered in order to defeat Hamas. He also stated that a date had been set for the operation.
Washington, according to Blinken, has not been assigned a date.
“On the contrary, we are in the midst of a conversation with Israel regarding any Rafah operation,” Blinken stated, expressing his expectation that the talks would carry over into the following week.
“I don’t see anything imminent, nor do I anticipate any actions being taken prior to those talks. There is still much to be done, he added, and we firmly believe that large-scale military operations in Rafah would put civilians in grave danger.
Blinken added that the United States is still collaborating closely with Qatar and Egypt on a possible cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. For the first time since the conflict began on October 7, he claimed that 400 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday.
