British MPs grill ministers over arms exports to Israel as 800,000 flee Rafah
Displaced Palestinian children line up to receive food in Rafah on 19 May 2024 as an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city deepens the humanitarian crisis
Dania Akkad reports in Middle East Eye on 22 May 2024:
The British government continues to assess that Israel has the intent and capability to follow international humanitarian law even as 800,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah this month, the deputy foreign secretary has said.
“As of now, there is no change to what the foreign secretary set out in April in Washington,” Andrew Mitchell told the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday.
In a hearing focused on UK arms sales to Israel, several MPs pressed Mitchell and other witnesses, including Minister for Industry and Economic Security and Conservative MP Alan Mak, to explain how the government could have come to its conclusions.
“Many of us will look at that evidence in the round and wonder how on earth someone can make a rational decision to keep arms export licences open,” said Labour MP and committee chair Liam Byrne. Among evidence Byrne cited were admissions this month from Mitchell, as well as Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Middle East Minister Lord Ahmad, that they have not seen a credible plan from Israel about how it plans to protect civilians in Rafah during its long-promised operation.
He also pointed to a report by US President Joe Biden’s administration that found it was “reasonable to assess” that Israeli forces used US weapons to violate international humanitarian law, as well as the International Criminal Court’s application this week for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Finally, Byrne said a court document filed by the Department for Business and Trade in a High Court case challenging UK arms sales to Israel suggested the government believed Israel had violated international humanitarian law when it linked the supply of humanitarian assistance in Gaza with the release of captives in late October.
Under intense scrutiny, Mitchell repeatedly emphasised that the government has reached its conclusions following “a very robust legal process”. “We do not do these things as a whim of politicians. We do it in a way set down and authorised by act of parliament,” he said. “We are not required to say that Israel has a clean bill of health. While we do not publish or comment on legal advice, we always act in a way that is consistent with it.”
Mitchell, however, conceded that “in view of the strength of feeling and the level of interest”, he would look into whether he could offer more detail in writing about the government’s international humanitarian law assessments. “In view of what has been said this afternoon, we will see what additional information we can provide,” he said.