British government ministers reviewed the following three months of the IDF’s presence in Gaza and found no reason to suspend arms exports to Israel.
The latest review of the evidence focused on the behavior of the Israeli military up to April 24, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Friday evening.
The previous review, published on April 9, covered the period up to the end of January, Assistant Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell told the select committee earlier this month.
The in-depth study covers Israel’s killing of three British aid workers employed by World Central Kitchen.
The statement did not specify when ministers recommended further arms sales. The process involves sending it to Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who then sends the advice to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is the final decision-maker.
The UK said it would consider a major ground offensive in Rafah a potential breach of international law, but did not specify what that would mean and the period under review did not cover the latest drives around Rafah.
Ministers did not call for an end to the offensive, but said there should be a transparent investigation into the number of 45 Palestinians killed last week.
The statement said: “As required by the UK’s robust arms export control regime, the Foreign Secretary has now reviewed the latest advice on the situation in Gaza and Israel’s conduct of the military campaign. This assessment covered the period up to April 24, 2024.
“The Commerce Secretary has therefore decided that our position on export licensing remains unchanged. This is in line with advice received by ministers. As always, we will keep this position under review.
“The UK undertakes a rigorous and thorough assessment of arms export license applications against the strategic export authorization criteria. These criteria include that we will not authorize exports if there is a clear risk that the products could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The decision to continue arms sales contrasts with the issuance of arrest warrants by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
One of the people who informed Khan that the arrest warrants were warranted was Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a former Foreign Office legal adviser who resigned from her government post for providing legal advice before the invasion. Iraq in 2003.
