THE UK Government is facing pressure to finally end all arms exports to Israel after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli prime minister now faces arrest if he sets foot in any of the 124 countries which have signed the ICC’s Rome Statute – including the UK.
However, while Netanyahu faces ICC allegations of committing “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” the Labour Government is continuing to allow arms exports to Israel.
In September, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the UK had suspended 30 of around 350 export licences. It may now be legally obliged to block all of them.
The UK's weapons export criteria
The UK Government allows weapons exports if they can pass their “Strategic Export Licensing Criteria”.
This criteria says that the UK Government will “not grant a licence if to do so would be inconsistent with … national sanctions observed by the UK and other relevant commitments regarding the application of strategic export controls”.
It further says licences will not be granted if “there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate … serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms as set out in relevant international human rights instruments”.
And adds that the UK Government will “not grant a licence if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
The ICC also found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu bears “criminal responsibility … for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
The findings may make it tricky for the UK Government to legally justify sending weapons to Netanyahu’s government.
However, Lammy has refused to publish any legal advice on the issue – despite demanding the Tories do so while he was in opposition.
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
