The advice being sent through to the Foreign Office was clear that the breaches of IHL by Israel as the occupying power were so obvious that there was a danger of UK complicity if the licences were not withdrawn.”
It's advantageous that the (arms exports) decision also means that at least the party can present a more positive face to those with concerns about what Israel's doing,
It is a government that was elected to say it wanted to do politics properly, and that does mean following legal advice,
This is a government of lawyers more than most,
It's a change of tone most certainly,
This, in short, is not a government that is likely to leave itself legally exposed,
It will not have a material impact on Israel’s security.”
In many cases, it has not been possible to reach a determinative conclusion on allegations regarding Israel’s conduct of hostilities,
They assured us they wouldn't do this,
This is not a determination of innocence or guilt,
The occupied territories are … a huge laboratory where Israel can perfect all these weapons systems, surveillance systems and technologies. … Israel needs a controlled conflict.”
F-35 parts are probably the single biggest UK contribution to Israel’s genocidal war,
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have already killed and injured tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. It’s time for a complete halt to arms transfers – no loopholes, no limitations,
And more broadly, UK-supplied weapons facilitate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and its apartheid system of dispossession, violence and control. Given this, and given that the UK is a party to the Genocide Convention, the UK should not be supplying any weapons or providing any military aid to or cooperation with Israel – something that Palestinians have long been demanding,
This shameful decision will not change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens,
It is a real thing,
Hamas is holding over 100 hostages, including 5 British citizens. Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas,
This is not a determination by the government that Israel has breached international humanitarian law,
We need to see a complete halt — with no loopholes, including for components for F-35s supplied to the USA for onward export to the Israeli military — to all U.K. arms transfers to Israel.”
With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”