JJP lobbies MPs to speak out against Britain’s help to Israel in its war on Gaza

Dear……………., MP  

We are Jews for Justice for Palestinians. With some 2,750 members, we are the largest Jewish peace group in the UK or Europe. You can view our principles and range of advocacy work on our website, jfjfp.com

We are writing to ask you to speak out against our government’s increased aerial reconnaissance assistance to Israel in Gaza and the continued granting of export licences for F-35 fighter jet parts. Both put the UK at risk of being held complicit with Israel’s major breaches of international law in Gaza. Our letter is attached.

In summary:

Open source information shows that RAF reconnaissance flights over Gaza are now averaging nearly four per day and account for nearly 50% of all the reconnaissance flights over Gaza for the past year. The FCDO said “…As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law … Only information related to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities.”  

However, the sheer number of RAF reconnaissance flights is disturbing, considering that Israel’s method of trying to rescue hostages sometimes entails reckless bombing and artillery attacks on crowded apartment blocks which inevitably kill and injure scores of Palestinians in order to try to rescue one or two hostages. In fact, some 350 Palestinians have been killed in the rescue attempts, most of whom have been non-combatants, while only eight hostages out of the total of about 240 have been rescued. Four hostages have been killed in the attempts. 

None of this has been necessary. A ceasefire and hostage-prisoner release deal has been available for many months but has continually been frustrated by Prime Minister Netanyahu against the wishes of senior military officers and his former Minister of Defence, who he recently dismissed. There is no justification for Israel’s reckless method of attempting to rescue hostages, and therefore no justification for Britain to provide reconnaissance data.  

Moreover, it is fatuous to believe that the Israeli army and air force will not use the British data as targeting information for their disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on suspected Hamas fighters, which kill and maim countless non-combatants, whatever they may tell Britain.

Components for F-35 fighter aircraft

Export of components for the F-35 intended for Israel should be suspended. It is not enough to suspend direct export to Israel but allow them to be exported to third countries, knowing they will be sent on to Israel.

The illegality of Israel’s war on Gaza

That Israel is committing the most grievous breaches of International Humanitarian Law cannot be in serious doubt. That is clear from decisions by the International Court of Justice and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Court; and from the virtually universal consensus among scholars of genocide, the holocaust and international relations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. That the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023 was a heinous crime does not give Israel the right to perpetrate an equally heinous or worse crime on the population of Gaza.

Legal opinion on complicity

Jews for Justice for Palestinians has obtained a legal opinion on the issue of complicity in international crimes from Professor Emeritus John Quigley, a leading authority on the issue. The opinion makes it clear that, on the basis of these facts, Britain is making itself complicit in the heinous crimes being committed by Israel. 

Conclusion

We urge you to speak out in Parliament, in committees and in private to stop our government from providing Israel with any further reconnaissance over Gaza or for permitting any further export of F-35 parts.

Please also find attached our papers on the consensus of scholarly opinion, the Declassified and Al-Jazeera reports, and Professor Quigley’s opinion. 

Yours sincerely,
Arthur Goodman

Parliamentary and Diplomatic Officer
Jews for Justice for Palestinians