At a press conference in Washington alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, the top British diplomat said the UK government would keep shipping arms to Israel after reviewing advice from the nation’s lawyers.
His remarks came as a majority of Britons have called on London to no longer give arms to Israel, whose military has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7.
They fear that Israel may be using British-made weapons in military actions that violate international law in the Palestinian territory, which has also been blocked by Israel from having access to water, food, and electricity.
“I have now reviewed the most recent advice about the situation in Gaza and Israel’s conduct of their military campaign. The latest assessment leaves our position on export licenses unchanged. This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received,” Cameron said.
However, he refused to elaborate on what legal advice London was given when assessing whether or not to restrict arms sales to the Israeli regime.
Early this month, Israel’s deadly strikes on the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) in central Gaza drew worldwide condemnation. Three of the WCK aid workers killed by Israeli airstrikes were Britons, who were all UK military veterans working on its security team.
Last week, three former senior British judges joined over 600 members of the British legal profession in calling for London to stop arms export to Israel.
Britain supplied 42 million pounds ($53 million) of arms to Israel in 2022.
MNA/Press TV
06:19 - 2024/04/11
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