On Friday, British diplomat Mark Smith resigned from the Foreign Office over the UK government’s arms sales to Israel, citing potential complicity in war crimes. In his resignation email, he highlighted the destruction of streets and universities, the blocking of humanitarian aid, and the targeting of civilians, schools, and hospitals in Israel. The Labour government has initiated a review of its arms policy in response to Smith’s resignation, which has increased pressure on the government to justify its decision not to ban arms exports to Israel. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated that the government is committed to upholding international law, while Israel denies committing war crimes and claims to be acting in self-defense.
The UK’s refusal to ban arms exports to Israel – podcast | News
On Friday, the British diplomat Mark Smith resigned from the Foreign Office over the UK government’s arms sales to Israel, saying they “may be complicit in war crimes”.
In his resignation email, he said: “Whole streets and universities have been demolished, humanitarian aid is being blocked and civilians are regularly left with no safe quarter to flee to. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are regularly targeted. These are war crimes.”
The Labour government has launched a review into its arms policy, but has not made any decisions so far. Smith’s resignation has intensified pressure on the government to justify its refusal to ban arms exports to Israel.
“It’s the first occasion we’ve known about dissent within the Foreign Office,” the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, tells Lucy Hough. “He says that he’s been raising this issue internally, including through the formal mechanisms, as well as in a letter to the current foreign secretary, and largely he was receiving replies to the effect that ‘we note your concerns’ and nothing more.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told the Guardian the government was committed to upholding international law. Israel denies it is committing war crimes, and insists it is acting in self-defence.
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Support The Guardian
The Guardian is editorially independent.
And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all.
But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work.
Support The Guardian
Read the full story on www.theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/aug/21/the-uks-refusal-to-ban-arms-exports-to-israel-podcast