Hundreds of lawyers in the UK have collectively penned an open letter cautioning Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about Israel’s perceived breaches of international law in its retaliation against Hamas in Gaza. Specifically, 260 lawyers have joined forces to warn the Sunak government regarding potential violations of Israeli law and have affixed their signatures to this missive, urging the Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to take immediate action. The letter emphasises the necessity for the UK to uphold its international legal commitments within the conflict, imploring the government to cease the sale of arms to Israel due to concerns that these armaments might contribute to “serious violations” of international humanitarian laws.
Lawyers’ demand: Stop sending arms to Israel
The list of signatories comprises 36 King’s Counsel, 49 law firm partners and directors, and 16 law professors. Recently, Sunak expressed his intention to advocate for a temporary halt in the conflict between Israel and militants. This pause aims to facilitate aid reaching Palestinians and establish a safer exit for UK citizens from the besieged area. Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, has echoed the call for a humanitarian pause rather than a complete ceasefire, a move the government believes would favour Hamas. Among those who signed the open letter are notable figures like Geoffrey Bindman KC, Andrew Hall KC (a former head of the Criminal Bar Association), and Theodore Huckle (former counsel general for Wales), alongside King’s Counsel members, law firm partners, directors, and law professors. Their collective stance emphasises the UK government’s need to promptly take action to ensure compliance with its obligations under the Geneva Conventions. They specifically stress the importance of refraining from encouraging, aiding, or abetting violations of international humanitarian law by other nations.
What did the lawyers also demand?
According to the lawyers’ letter, the government should leverage its influence to advocate for a ceasefire and the prompt reinstatement of essential provisions like food, water, medical supplies, and fuel to Gaza. The 10-page letter provides a detailed analysis of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza since Hamas launched its deadly assault on Israel on 7 October. There has been growing criticism from legal experts over Israel’s actions in Gaza. Prominent legal scholars from around the world were among hundreds of academics who signed a public statement on 15 October warning of the possibility of genocide being committed in Gaza.
It highlights the UK government’s obligation under the 1951 Genocide Convention “to act to prevent genocide where there is a risk of genocide happening”. While condemning Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians as war crimes, the letter warns: “The commission by one party to a conflict – including an armed group – of serious violations of international humanitarian law does not, however, justify their commission by another party.”
The letter of 260 UK Lawyers Warn Sunak Gov. on Israeli Law Violations urges the UK to observe its duty.
Respect and provide respect for international humanitarian law as set out in the Four Geneva Conventions and to ensure that it does not ‘encourage, aid or assist its violation by others. It concludes its letter by urging the government to act according to Article 1 of the UN Charter.
The letter, however, also blames the actions being taken by Israel. It says that “the commission by one party to a conflict – including an armed group – of serious violations of international humanitarian law does not justify their commission by another party.” It draws focus to the dense population of Gaza, of which one million comprises children. In particular, the letter states that Israel’s actions of “arbitrary failure to allow and facilitate the impartial and impeded passage of humanitarian relief” is prohibited under Article 54 of the Geneva Conventions, and forcible transfer of civilian populations from one area to another is prohibited under Article 49.
Prominent human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have also criticised the evacuation order of Gaza. The UK Government has made clear its stance in support of Israel’s “right to self-defence.” However, the letter notes that some UN personnel have said that there is a risk of “genocide” in Gaza and that the 1951 Genocide Convention creates an obligation for the UK to act in the prevention of “genocide where there is a risk of genocide happening.”
What are Israel’s violations of international law?
The state of Israel has defiled many international laws, including United Nations Resolutions and the Laws of War and Occupation, as expressed in the Fourth Geneva Convention. Immediately following the 1967 war, Israel began building Israeli civilian settlements on Palestinian lands, eventually building over 200 accommodations throughout the occupied territories and settling over 450,000 Israeli civilians in them. In violation of the UN Partition Plan, Israel took an extra 15% of the land in 1948, and then, following the 1967 war, Israel confiscated East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Since 1910, in different ways, the Zionists and then Israel have taken Palestinian lands, forced native populations from their land, and then refused the Palestinian landowners or tenants’ residency or employment on them. Following fighting in 1948 and then again in 1967, Palestinian civilians who wished to return to their homes in Israel and the Occupied Territories were forbidden re-entry (“right of return”), confining them to increasingly smaller areas of Israel and Occupied Territories. The Israeli government enacted laws and employed its military to keep approximately 750,000 Palestinian Arab civilians from returning to their homes following the end of fighting both in 1948 and in the occupied territories in 1967
The State of Israel has a formal system of legalised discrimination against Palestinian Arabs.
This system technically includes the official UN definition of apartheid. Israel’s society-wide system of discrimination and isolation of the Palestinian people within Israel and its approach of exploitation, intimidation and isolation in the occupied territories fits precisely the official, legal UN definition of apartheid, which is believed to be a crime against humanity.
In response to Arab rebellion, the Israeli military takes massive action against entire Palestinian communities, for example, destroying entire neighbourhoods of homes, confiscating communal farmlands, bulldozing homes, blocking off certain areas, or not allowing civilian populations to leave their houses for extensive periods. This is called collective punishment because it punishes entire communities for the actions of a few.
Israel acts against children’s rights.
Several articles and additional protocols protect children during armed conflict, particularly in the fourth convention.
These include:
- Establishing hospitals and safety zones for children under the age of 15
- Ensuring access to “essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics” for children in areas that are under siege
- Special care for children who are orphaned or separated from their families
- Evacuating children to safe areas and reuniting them with their families
- When children are evacuated, ensure that “ministers of all religions, medical personnel, and medical equipment” are available where children are moved.
The Fourth Geneva Convention says that children have a right to protect their cultural environment and education. In all, at least 90 educational institutions have been damaged in Israeli bombing so far. Courts such as the International Criminal Court at The Hague can launch an investigation to determine whether casualties in Palestine and Israel violate international law. Activists have called on the ICC to break its silence on Israeli aggression in Gaza. The ICC has, in the past, begun investigations into potential war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Palestinian territories but has not held anyone accountable to date.