The British government is increasing pressure to halt arms supplies to Israel, which continues its war in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain had no intention of halting arms sales to Israel by British companies after considering the latest legal advice on the issue.
Six months after Israel's attack on Gaza, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government is forcing Britain to revoke permits allowing arms exports to Israel. under pressure.
“The latest assessment does not change our position on export licenses. This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received,” Cameron told US Prime Minister Antony Blinken in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. said at a press conference.
“And as always, we will continue to review this position.”
Britain supplied Israel with 42 million pounds ($53 million) worth of arms in 2022.
Last week, three former senior British judges joined more than 600 members of the British legal profession to call on the government to halt arms sales to Israel, saying they fear Britain could be complicit in genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Some opposition parties in the UK are calling on the government to recall parliament from its current holiday, cancel export licenses and publish legal advice used by the government to achieve its position.
Cristian Benedict, Amnesty International UK's Crisis Manager, said: “This is a sign that Prime Minister David Cameron has accused himself and other British officials of current accusations of Israeli war crimes, apartheid and potential genocide. “This is another missed opportunity to move away from collusion.”
Israel denies committing war crimes or genocide in its attack on Gaza and refuses to use the term “apartheid” to describe its treatment of Palestinians.
According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 33,360 people have been killed and 75,993 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
Israel launched the attack after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
Prime Minister Cameron said the UK remained “gravely concerned about humanitarian access issues in Gaza”.
He defended the decision not to publish legal advice on arms export licenses. He said it was an important principle for his ministers to act consistently without publishing legal advice.
“The overall judgment is that these export licenses remain valid and will continue,” he said.
His visit to the United States comes as Israel announces it has set a date for a military attack on Rafah in southern Gaza. More than 1 million displaced people are fleeing Israeli attacks in Rafah.
Blinken said Tuesday he expected talks between Israeli and U.S. officials about a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah to take place next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that victory over Hamas requires entry into Rafah and said a date was set for the operation, despite warnings from the US government not to do so.
Blinken said Washington had not been given a date.
“On the contrary, what we have is continuing discussions with Israel about Operation Rafah,” Blinken said, adding that talks would continue into next week.
“We do not expect any action to be taken before these talks, and for that matter we do not believe there is anything imminent. But there is a lot of work to be done and a major “Our belief remains that large-scale military operations are extremely dangerous for civilians and will put them at risk,” he said.
Blinken also said the United States continues to work closely with Qatar and Egypt on a possible ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He said 400 trucks were allowed into Gaza on Monday, the most since the conflict began on October 7.
