Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The fifth round of Iran-US talks ended after three and a half hours.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States has begun at the headquarters of the Sultanate of Oman's mission in Rome.
Turkish public prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel over alleged links to a group accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt
Kremlin says no agreements yet on next platform for Russia-Ukraine negotiations
YAF spokesperson: We targeted Lydd Airport, known as Ben-Gurion Airport, with a hypersonic missile
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Two Israeli airstrikes targeted Wadi al-Aziziya in the Tyre district.
CIA spokesperson says law enforcement responded to a security incident outside CIA headquarters.
Brigadier General Saree: Operation achieved its targeted successfully, forcing millions of Zionists to flee to shelters, and halted air traffic at the airport.
YAF spokesperson: We've executed a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Yafa with ballistic hypersonic missile.
IOF warning forces residents to evacuate and head South in preparation for expansion of aggression.

Labour presses Cameron to publish legal advice on Israeli law breach

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 23 Mar 2024 16:31
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

The two legal groups – Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al-Haq – are separately preparing for an oral hearing to ask permission for a judicial review of the government’s refusal to stop sending arms to "Israel". 

  • x
  • Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron arrives to attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, in London, Monday, March 11, 2024. (Pool/AP)
    Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron arrives to attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, in London, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Pool/AP)

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is being pressured by the shadow UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to publish the Foreign Office formal legal advice on whether "Israel" is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza after two human rights groups were permitted an oral hearing to seek a judicial review of the government’s refusal to ban arms exports to "Israel".

“Given the gravity of the situation in Gaza, the degree of public and parliamentary interest and the risks to the credibility of the UK’s export controls regime, there is a compelling case to publish the government’s legal advice,” Lammy wrote in a letter to Cameron, adding that licenses for arms exports should not be granted if “there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."

The two legal groups – Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al-Haq – are separately preparing for an oral hearing to ask permission for a judicial review of the government’s refusal to stop sending arms to "Israel". 

UK government legal advice is not usually published, by precedent, but the Labour Party sees it is not possible to conduct a debate on Gaza without full access to the advice.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said earlier his week that Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) was being allegedly checked, but the issues involved were “complex”, confirming, however, that “everyone agrees that people are starving in Gaza." Still, he refused to state that "Israel" was violating IHL since he claimed there were “very serious doubts” about the term “deliberate starvation” in this context.

The oral hearing is expected to occur in weeks after a written request for permission was rejected last month by Justice Eyre.

Read next: British MoD burning through budget to fund Yemen war: Declassified UK

Back in December, the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, decided that “there is not at present a clear risk that items exported to the Israel Defense Forces might be used to commit a serious violation of IHL" but the Foreign Office papers obtained after GLAN’s written request show an internal process that is rigged and extremely limited.

Related News

'Israel' in advanced talks to displace Gazans to Africa: Maariv

Yemenis march in solidarity with Gaza amid strikes on Ben Gurion

To comply or not to comply?

According to an internal Foreign Office memo written on November 10, it states that “without accurate information on real-time IDF decision-making we have been unable to make a case-by-case assessment on Israel’s compliance with IHL for specific strikes or ground operations during the current conflict in Gaza."

Evidence of war crimes assembled by Amnesty International, including attacks on hospitals and schools, were rejected on the basis that the UK could not identify why "Israel" acted as it did in an individual strike. This prompted GLAN to call the department's statement out, saying that this means that as long as a theoretical justification exists for an airstrike, "Israel" has been presumed to be acting under international law. 

GLAN revealed that the suggestion by the Foreign Office to continue selling arms was only fortified after it received generalized assurances from the Israeli embassy about its alleged plans to act under international law.

Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer with GLAN, said, “If a state fails to distinguish military and civilian objects, or to take reasonable precautions or to make a proper proportionality assessment, that amounts to a violation and it’s immaterial whether or not they intended to cause such harm. This is a text book case of the war crime of starvation of individuals as a method of warfare.”

Ahmed Abofoul, a legal officer at Al-Haq and a longtime former resident of Gaza, said, “The level of destruction removes any doubt around proportionality. Destroying 70% of Gaza’s residential units does not indicate any distinguishable targeting... What else does the British government need to understand that this is not about legitimate targets or distinguishing between civilians and Hamas? This is about making Gaza uninhabitable, and forcing civilians to leave their homes.”

Read next: UK adds new definition to 'extremism', raises alarms on free speech

“History will not be kind to the UK government’s position because it’s not only a distorted interpretation of IHL that is causing massive loss of life, it’s also destroying the very notion of international law that has, to a certain extent, provided somewhat stability in the world.”

Even though Cameron has directly addressed "Israel's" breach of the rules of war and emphasized its accountability as the occupying power, he called for the removal of the Hamas leadership from Gaza, along with dismantling its infrastructure for a sustainable long-term ceasefire.

He also insisted that the UK recognizing Palestine as a state "should [not] happen" in the meantime.

  • Gaza Strip
  • Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Palestine
  • Israeli aggression
  • Israel
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • International Law
  • United Kingdom
  • Gaza
  • David Cameron
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

  • MENA
  • 17 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The sun sets over Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, July. 31, 2017.
Environment

Greenland’s moon rock mine: Europe wins, US watches

A US B-1B Lancer landing after a Bomber Task Force mission at Naval Station Diego Garcia last year (US Air Force/AP)
Asia Pacific

UK retains US base access as Chagos sovereignty transfers to Mauritius

A coworking office space in Meridian, Idaho, Thursday, April 18, 2024 (AP)
Technology

US plans data portal to expand warrantless surveillance: The Intercept

'Israel' releases Gaza detainees after months of starvation, torture
Palestine

Released Gaza detainees report abuse, starvation in Israeli prisons

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS