UK may halt arms exports to Israel if IDF goes through with Rafah operation - report
Foreign Secretary David Cameron responded by sending two letters to the Foreign Affairs Committee, one regarding the planned Israel invasion of Rafah, and the other regarding arms exports to Israel.
The UK could suspend arms exports to Israel if it enters Rafah, although no decision has been made yet, according to a report by the Guardian on Wednesday.
Ministerial sources told the Guardian that no decision had been made regarding the suspension of arms exports to Israel, but that should the government receive legal advice that Israel was in breach of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) they would be able to respond quickly.
However, any decision to suspend arms exports looks unlikely as the UK's High Court of Justice dismissed a case urging the suspension of arms sales to Israel on Tuesday, according to British media.
The court ruled against Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and its UK-based partner Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), who argued the government had ignored its own rules on arms exports which could be used to violate IHL.
The decision is likely to be appealed to the UK Supreme Court, the case is only one of several cases being brought against the UK government over arms exports to Israel.
UK government response
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron sent two letters to the Foreign Affairs Committee, one regarding the planned Israel invasion of Rafah, and the other regarding arms exports to Israel.
In the first letter, he reiterated that the UK is against an Israeli invasion of Rafah due to the potential to harm civilians.
"We want Israel to stop and think seriously about the repercussions of a military offensive before it takes any further action. Too many civilians have been killed in this conflict already," read the letter.
In the second letter, he cautioned he could not say too much due to the ongoing court cases. He did say that on December 12 Cameron decided that there was not a clear risk that the exports would be used to violate IHL.
He confirmed that reviews of the situation would continue saying, "The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to assess Israel's commitment and capability to comply with IHL and its past record of compliance. Those assessments are supported by a detailed evidence base."
This comes less than a month after a Dutch court suspended the export of F-35 parts to Israel over concerns they were being used in violations of international law.
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