UK government faces mounting challenges on arms sales to Israel and UNRWA funding
Palestinians check the rubble of buildings destroyed following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, 27 March 2024
Dania Akkad reports in Middle East Eye on 27 March 2024:
The UK government is facing mounting challenges to its policies on the Gaza war, with over 130 parliamentarians calling for a halt to arms sales to Israel and a British-Palestinian man threatening legal action over the UK’s decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.
In a letter on Wednesday, cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords accused the government of having “failed to act” in response to “overwhelming” evidence of Israeli violations of international law, and concerns that UK-made weapons are being used in Gaza.
“Business as usual” for UK arms exports to Israel “is totally unacceptable”, they wrote, pointing to other countries, most recently Canada, which have halted their sales.
The letter, coordinated by Labour MP Zarah Sultana, also highlighted an Israeli military attack on a compound in Gaza housing British doctors working for a British charity in January which the UN has found most likely involved both US and UK-made weaponry.
“In previous escalations of the conflict, UK governments have admitted that UK-made arms could have been used by Israel in Gaza,” they wrote. “Today the scale of violence committed by the Israeli military is vastly more deadly, but the UK government has failed to act.”
The Foreign Office responded to the letter by directing Middle East Eye to comments foreign office minister Andrew Mitchell made in parliament on Tuesday. “We regularly review Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law and act in accordance with that,” Mitchell told MPs.
The Department for Business and Trade did not respond to a request for comment.
The government is also facing a legal challenge from a British-Palestinian man whose parents live in northern Gaza, over the UK’s ongoing decision to pause funding for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. On Wednesday, the UK-based Bindmans law firm sent a pre-action letter on his behalf to the Foreign Office, threatening a judicial review if the government does not announce the restoration of UNRWA funding by next Tuesday.