Israel is breaching international law in Gaza, UK legal adviser tell gov't

Alicia Kearns, Chair of the UK's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said earlier this month in a recording leaked by The Observer on Sunday that the British government received advice that Israel had breached international humanitarian law; however, it chose not to make it public.

“The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it,” Kearns said at an event of the Conservative Party in mid-March.

“They have not said it; they haven’t stopped arms exports. They have done a few very small sanctions on Israeli settlers, and everyone internationally is agreed that settlers are illegal, that they shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, and the ways in which they have continued and the money that’s been put in,” Kearns added. 

Kearns reiterates her position

According to The Guardian, Kearns reiterated her stance on Saturday, stating, “I remain convinced the government has completed its updated assessment on whether Israel is demonstrating a commitment to international humanitarian law, and that it has concluded that Israel is not demonstrating this commitment, which is the legal determination it has to make.”

Such revelations may put the UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Prime Minister Rish Sunak under severe pressure.

According to British law, such legal advice would require the British government to cease selling weapons to Israel immediately.