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UK-Israel Relations: UK Government’s Faces Increased Pressure Over Israel Stance

UK and Israel Relationship: what is going on?
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Rob Clark

Director of Foreign Policy at Curia

As this weekend saw the six-month anniversary of the barbaric Hamas terrorist raid into southern Israel murdering over 1,200 Israelis, and capturing 253 hostages, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marked the six months since the attack by saying that “the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed” and called for a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid to reach civilians in Gaza.

At the same time, the UK government are currently under renewed pressure to halt both its continued support of Israel as well ceasing all arms exports, following the killings of the three British ex-military aid workers in Gaza last week.

John Chapman, James Kirby, and James Henderson were killed alongside four of their colleagues from aid organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK), in three targeted strikes by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) on Monday 1st April. Their tragic deaths were caused by a series of a suspected inconsistencies during a botched nighttime operation, which has been severely criticised by military observers.

‘Too many aid workers and civilians are losing their lives

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately called for an urgent investigation into the deaths, stating that far too many aid workers and civilians had lost their lives in Gaza during a conversation with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the very next day.

Separately, Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and requested an urgent explanation of the incident. Lord Cameron said that he underlined to Katz that the deaths of the humanitarian workers were “completely unacceptable” and that Israel must make “major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground”.

Andrew Mitchell, a Foreign Office minister, summoned the Israeli ambassador over the incident and requested “a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability”.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that the Prime Minister “was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an airstrike in Gaza … and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”. The spokesperson added that;

“The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable. The UK expects to see immediate action by Israel to end restrictions on humanitarian aid, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks. The prime minister reiterated that Israel’s rightful aim of defeating Hamas would not be achieved by allowing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”

Increasing aid into Gaza

This incident, whilst tragic on a humanitarian level, raises two immediate causes for concern for the UK government. The first is the question of continued aid delivery into Gaza. Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said that; “Humanitarian agencies must be given the assurances they need that their people will be protected.” WCK announced the suspension of their work in Gaza in the aftermath of last week’s strikes, stating understandable safety concerns for their volunteers and employees. Other aid organisations have followed.

As well as British aid organisations, charities, and volunteers operating in Gaza, the UK maintains an instrumental role in the operational delivery of large quantities of international aid delivered by sea from Cyprus, in addition to helping the US with the flotilla being developed off Gaza’s coast with the aim of drastically increasing the amount of aid getting into the Palestinian territory.

Whilst questions linger as to the long-term viability for aid organisations to remain operating in Gaza, there are further serious questions regarding the distribution of international aid within the territory, as Hamas operatives continue to have a leading role to play distributing aid once received inside Gaza. There are international concerns of an impending famine, largely due to the amount of aid trucks allowed in. But once in, they are routinely under Hamas control, therefore raising concerns of equal and effective distribution, exacerbating fears further.

Therefore, questions of not just how the UK government can engage meaningfully with regional powers like Jordan, and Egypt, who have control and access to Israel’s borders for the aid deliveries, but also with regards to Israeli authorities in Cyprus, and also how to better ensure equal distribution for aid once in Gaza – which is incredibly problematic and only worsens the chances of famine.

British arms to Israel

The second significant concern last week’s tragic events raises for the UK government is the question of continued British arms sales to Israel. There was much speculation regarding the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and weapons used in last week’s strikes, and whether they contained any British manufactured or supplied parts, which some sought to highlight as a justification to cease all arms trade with Israel.

Undoubtedly details such as these will form much of the reviews currently being undertaken both in Israel and in the UK over last week’s strikes, but regardless this still places severe pressure on Whitehall to get tougher on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The calls for the UK to halt all arms sales to Israel should be carefully considered by the government within pre-existing frameworks, including the export licenses agreements and the country’s obligations under international law.

Adding to this pressure, last week former Supreme Court justices were among 600 lawyers who wrote to the government saying weapon exports to Israel must end because the UK risks breaking international law over a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, followed by Alicia Kearns telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday that the UK had “no choice” but to suspend arms sales to Israel.

On Sunday deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden responded by stating that Israel was “still facing this existential threat from Hamas” and was “prosecuting a legitimate war of self-defence. The key thing is, ‘is it legitimate, can we lawfully sell arms to Israel?’ and yes, that is the case and on that basis… that position has not changed. We will of course act in accordance with our obligations under law in respect of arms sales.”

Lord Cameron also suggested arms sales should continue as “so far Hamas has said no” to a deal for a pause in the fighting. He said that; “We must all continue to work towards this aim, but I believe that failing to prepare for continued conflict will lead to further suffering and avoidable loss of innocent lives. The UK stands ready to play its part.”

Final thoughts: striking the right balance

In an ever increasing in tray of competing foreign policy priorities, the UK government seeks to strike a diplomatic balance. They aim to support Israel’s legitimate war against Hamas while securing borders and rescuing hostages. At the same time, they endeavour to hold Netanyahu accountable for any serious infractions of international law, including the killing of aid workers. This incident, as unintentional as it may seem, raise significant concerns about the conduct of Israel’s legitimate war.

As the US administration are publicly growing more frustrated with Israel’s government, Netanyahu would do well to heed the concerns of its closest allies and partners – first amongst them is the UK.

This article was written by Curia’s Director of Foreign Policy, Rob Clark. For more insight on Foreign Policy, click here.

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