More than 600 lawyers, academics, retired senior judges, including three former Supreme Court Justices one of whom is the court’s former President Lady Hale, former court of appeal judges, and more than 60 KCs warned that the UK government is violating international law by perpetually arming "Israel", The Guardian reported.

The signatories, in a 17-page legal opinion letter sent to the Prime Minister on the evening of April 3, labeled the current situation in Gaza as "catastrophic", emphasizing that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that there is a "plausible risk of genocide" committed by the Israeli occupation against Gaza, which makes the UK legally obliged to take steps to prevent it, The Guardian added. 

"While we welcome the increasingly robust calls by your government for a cessation of fighting and the unobstructed entry to Gaza of humanitarian assistance, simultaneously to continue (to take two striking examples) the sale of weapons and weapons systems to Israel and to maintain threats of suspending UK aid to UNRWA falls significantly short of your government’s obligations under international law," the letter said.

The letter further urged the government to take steps toward a permanent ceasefire and to implement sanctions “upon individuals and entities who have made statements inciting genocide against Palestinians,” adding that funding UNRWA again is essential for "effective entry and distribution of the means of existence to Palestinians in Gaza, and by extension the prevention of genocide."

As for sending weapons to "Israel", the letter said, "The ICJ’s conclusion that there exists a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza has placed your government on notice that weapons might be used in its commission and that the suspension of their provision is thus a ‘means likely to deter’ and/or ‘a measure to prevent’ genocide."

According to The Guardian, the letter’s importance is not only in the number of signatories but also the fact that it has been signed by senior retired judges, who usually do not make remarks publicly on "politically sensitive issues," some of whom are former Supreme Court Justices Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, the former Lord Justices of Appeal Sir Stephen Sedley, Sir Alan Moses, Sir Anthony Hooper, and Sir Richard Aikens, and the former chair of the Bar of England and Wales, Matthias Kelly KC.

"The UK must take immediate measures to bring to an end through lawful means acts giving rise to a serious risk of genocide. Failure to comply with its own obligations under the genocide convention to take ‘all measures to prevent genocide which were within its power’ would incur UK state responsibility for the commission of an international wrong, for which full reparation must be made," the letter emphasized. 

Read more: Palestine Action protest Teledyne, Elbit weapon export to 'Israel'

Conservative MPs pressure Sunak to take action

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According to The Guardian, this came in parallel with conservative MPs further pressuring Rishi Sunak to take action, especially after the Israeli attack on April 1 targeting international aid workers and killing seven, including three British citizens.

It added that party sources believe that the foreign secretary, David Cameron, has been pressuring the government to have a sterner approach toward "Israel", however, Downing Street has been resistant to his attempts.

Conservative MPs David Jones, Paul Bristow, and Flick Drummond and the Tory peer Hugo Swire all urged the ban of arms exports to "Israel" after Peter Ricketts, who was a government national security advisor during David Cameron’s premiership and is currently in the Lords, expressed a similar stance.

Lord Ricketts speaking with BBC Radio 4’s Today program said, “I think there’s abundant evidence now that Israel hasn’t been taking enough care to fulfill its obligations on the safety of civilians. And a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law. That’s a condition of the arms export license.”

YouGov poll: the majority of 56% to 17% voters in the UK support banning weapon exports to "Israel"

The Guardian also reported on April 3 that according to a YouGov poll, a majority of voters in Britain support a ban on arms sales to "Israel".

The poll was commissioned by Action for Humanity and done before the Israeli attack on aid workers in Gaza on April 1.

According to the poll, among all voters in the UK, a majority of 56% to 17% support a ban on the export of arms and spare parts to the Israeli occupation with a majority of 59% to 12% voters saying that "Israel" is breaching human rights in Gaza.

Tory voters also affirmed the latter by two to one. 

The Guardian added that in the UK, unlike the US, there has been very scarce polling of public opinion on "Israel’s" actions in Gaza.

It emphasizes that the findings of this poll indicate that "strenuous Israeli efforts at public diplomacy" did not succeed in convincing the British public. 

Voters planning to vote for Labour at the next elections exhibited strong support for an arms export ban, according to the poll, with an overwhelming 71% to 9% of the latter backing the ban. On the other hand, Lib Dem voters supported the ban by 70% to 14% and Conservative voters by 38% to 36%.

The YouGov poll included a 2,000-plus sample size.