By Lucy Caulkett-
Legal academics and former judges are demanding a full arms embargo on Israel, arguing that the British government’s own acknowledgement that ethnic cleansing is taking place in the occupied West Bank has profound consequences for the legality of continuing arms transfers. In a six-page letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the lawyers argue that ministers cannot acknowledge serious violations of international law and then proceed as though those findings have no bearing on Britain’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty.
The letter, signed by 15 King’s Counsel, more than 30 solicitors and former Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Alan Moses, goes considerably further than criticism of the government’s newly announced sanctions against Israeli settlements. The lawyers argue that the government’s position on arms transfers must be reconsidered in light of Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s statement to Parliament on 8 September that the British government agrees that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is taking place in the West bank. That statement, for the signatories, is more than a political assessment. They argue that it engages specific obligations under international law, including those contained in the Arms Trade Treaty.
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Article 6(3) of the treaty prohibits the transfer of arms in circumstances where a state has knowledge that the items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions or other war crimes. The lawyers’ argument is that once the government has acknowledged conduct of this nature, it cannot simply disregard the significance of that knowledge when deciding whether arms transfers should continue.
“Having made that finding, the UK Government cannot treat that knowledge as absent,” the letter states. That is one of the most significant arguments in the entire six-page intervention because it moves the debate from the political question of whether Britain should impose sanctions to the legal question of whether ministers can continue authorising arms transfers consistently with Britain’s treaty obligations. The lawyers therefore call for a full arms embargo on Israel. Their demand comes in addition to calls for broader economic sanctions covering insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure connected with Israeli settlements. They are also seeking confirmation that British public bodies, pension schemes and sovereign funds do not hold investments in settlements. Taken together, the demands amount to a challenge to the architecture of Britain’s relationship with Israel.
The lawyers argue that the government has already accepted two propositions of fundamental importance: first, that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful; and second, that ethnic cleansing is taking place in the West Bank. The question they now pose is what Britain is legally required to do as a consequence. Professor Ralph Wilde of University College London argues that the government’s recognition of the illegality of the occupation is welcome, but that ministers cannot stop at limited measures against settlements and settlers. He says the consequences for Britain and other states are considerably wider, including duties to take comprehensive action to bring the unlawful situation to an end and to avoid contributing to it. The lawyers reinforce that argument by drawing an explicit comparison with Britain’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The UK’s sanctions against Russia have not been limited to individuals directly involved in military operations. They have extended to banks, energy companies, shipping networks, exports, investment and financial services because those wider economic structures are considered capable of enabling or financing Russia’s military activities and occupation. The lawyers say the same principle should apply to Israel.Their argument is not that the circumstances surrounding Russia and Israel are identical. Rather, they contend that Britain has already accepted a legal and policy principle: where an unlawful occupation is being sustained by wider economic and financial structures, governments can act against those structures rather than concentrating solely on individual perpetrators.
“The same logic has yet to be applied towards Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory,” the letter says. The arms issue makes that argument particularly acute. Unlike restrictions on settlement imports, an arms embargo would directly affect Britain’s military relationship with Israel. It would represent a far more consequential policy decision and would raise questions about existing licences, military equipment, components and other forms of defence cooperation. The lawyers’ position is that those questions can no longer be considered independently of the government’s own public findings.
Their intervention effectively asks ministers to confront a legal dilemma: if the government has knowledge of conduct covered by the Arms Trade Treaty, can it continue authorising transfers without violating its international obligations? That question is likely to attract sustained scrutiny because the answer cannot be separated from the government’s own statements. The letter therefore places considerable emphasis on the importance of consistency. Ministers cannot, the lawyers argue, make a formal finding about ethnic cleansing and then behave as though the finding has no legal consequences. The same principle applies to the occupation itself. If Britain recognises Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory as unlawful, the lawyers say it must examine whether British institutions and companies are helping to maintain that situation.
That could potentially encompass financial investments, professional services, technology and other economic relationships that have previously received far less attention than arms exports. The intervention also signals that the lawyers do not intend to allow the issue to disappear after the government’s latest announcement. They say they plan to form a coalition to support Palestinian rights and protect freedom of expression in Britain concerning Palestine. The result is a widening legal and political challenge. The government can argue that its settlement sanctions represent a significant change in British policy. The lawyers accept that the decision to act is welcome. Their contention, however, is that the government’s own legal and political conclusions require it to go much further.
At the centre of the dispute is therefore a simple but potentially far-reaching question: what does Britain’s recognition of unlawful occupation and ethnic cleansing actually require it to do? The answer includes a full arms embargo and much broader economic measures. The coming months will determine for the British government whether its latest sanctions are seen as the beginning of a comprehensive policy shift or as the limit of what ministers are prepared to do. The legal argument advanced in the letter suggests that the issue will not be settled by the settlement import ban alone. The lawyers are now challenging the government to apply its own findings consistently across Britain’s military, financial and economic relationships with Israel.
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