Foreign Secretary David Cameron has pledged to ‘hold Israel to account’ over the killing of three British aid workers in Gaza- but refuses to stop selling them weapons.
Britons James Henderson, James Kirby and John Chapman were among the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) volunteers killed by a drone strike on Monday while trying to deliver food to Palestinians in a clearly marked charity vehicle.
WCK founder Jose Andres claimed the Israeli military knew of his aid workers’ movements and targeted them ‘systematically, car by car’.
Their deaths have sparked international fury at Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza, which has seen 30,000 civilians killed and accusations of genocide levelled at the Middle-Eastern state.
US President Joe Biden called for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in the region following the attack, claiming American support for Israel was now conditional on them providing new steps to protect aid workers and civilians.
But the British government has refused to commit to any withdrawal of support, instead calling for a ‘pause’ in the fighting in order to create conditions for a ‘sustainable ceasefire’.
Speaking to The Times, the brother of aid worker Jim Henderson said yesterday it was ‘hard to comprehend’ the Government’s response.
In a statement on behalf of the family, he said: ‘Accountability is the only hope of justice I have… I don’t believe our Government will hold the correct people to account, but I guarantee our Government will sell weapons to Israel, which may… be used to kill our fellow citizens.’
Responding to the claims, Lord Cameron told the Mail vowed to ‘hold Israel to account’ and said the Israeli government ‘know how serious this issue is and how they have got to get to the bottom of it and frankly make sure it never happens again’.
But he refused to say if the UK is confident Israel is acting within international law or if arms sales might be suspended, and rejected claims the British government is downplaying the incident to avoid upsetting Israel.
Cameron’s remarks were backed by a number of his party’s MPs, including former home secretary Suella Braverman who claimed Israel is ‘absolutely not’ in breach of international humanitarian law and should not be punished.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Bob Seely, who sits on the Foreign Affairs committee, said calls to suspend arms sales were ‘shallow gesture politics’ and the UK should ‘double down’ on its relationship with Israel.
He told BBC Newsnight: ‘The reality is that we supply 0.02% of Israel’s arms imports, which is a meaninglessly small figure, and actually by blocking it, effectively, this is shallow gesture politics and nothing but.
‘And it’s symptomatic of the way that gesture politics is driving out rigorous thought from public debate. So, let’s have a rigorous public debate, let’s talk about the issues, but please, let’s just drop the gesture politics because it’s pretty pointless.’
‘If you want to have a strategy, and if you want to have influence over people, you have to stay close to them. So actually, we have to double down on our relationship with Israel, but also Arab states that are involved in the same way.’
The Government is also under pressure to publish legal advice after civil servants within the Department of Business and Trade involved with arms exports have raised concerns over their own degree of legal liability if Israel is found to be violating international humanitarian law.
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Members of the PCS union have threatened legal action to prevent their members from being forced to carry out unlawful acts.
Mr Seely said: ‘Governments don’t publish legal advice and I suspect that’s going to be the same in future for any government and it’s certainly the case now.’
Mentioning other countries the Government has faced pressure in the past to sever ties with, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Mr Seely said it was in the ‘national interest’ to maintain relationships.
He said: ‘We should have substance to our principles, but we also need to tread carefully when it comes to military and intelligence relationships, because we spend a lot of time developing these relationships and they are significantly in our national interest and we have to think a little bit strategically.’
A letter calling for the UK to suspend arms sales to Israel has been signed by more than 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices.
Mr Netanyahu’s office has said ‘immediate steps’ have been approved by the security cabinet to help aid reach Gaza, including the temporary opening of the Erez crossing at the northern end of the territory and allowing the use of the Israeli port of Ashdod for aid shipments.
US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the nation ‘welcomes’ Israel’s decision and called on the steps to be ‘fully and rapidly implemented’.
‘As the President said today on the call, US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers,’ she said.
Aid from Jordan through another land journey will also be allowed to increase.
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