UK Government lawyers think Israel is breaking international law, says senior Tory

The UK Government has received legal advice that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law, but has refused to confirm it publicly, a senior Tory MP claimed.

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns said she was convinced the Government had concluded that Israel was not demonstrating a commitment to international humanitarian law and “transparency at this point is paramount”.

The Foreign Office said advice on Israel’s compliance with international law was kept under review, but it would remain confidential.

Israel has come under intense international scrutiny over its treatment of Palestinians during the war against Hamas following the October 7 atrocities.

A leaked recording of Kearns disclosed that she believes the UK Government has received advice that Israel is flouting the law.

Answering questions at an “evening drinks reception” hosted by the West Hampstead and Fortune Green Conservatives in London on March 13, she said: “The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law but the Government has not announced it.

“They have not said it, they haven’t stopped arms exports.

“They have done a few very small sanctions on Israeli settlers – and everyone internationally is agreed that settlers are illegal, that they shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, and the ways in which they have continued and the money that’s been put in.”

Arms export licences cannot be granted if there is a clear risk the weapons could be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

On Saturday she stood by the comments, saying: “I remain convinced the Government has completed its updated assessment on whether Israel is demonstrating a commitment to international humanitarian law, and that it has concluded that Israel is not demonstrating this commitment, which is the legal determination it has to make.

“Transparency at this point is paramount, not least to uphold the international rules-based order.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We keep advice on Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law under review and ministers act in accordance with that advice, for example when considering export licences.

“In a darkening world, @‌UNRWA is the one ray of light for so many.

We must not take that hope away.”

This past week, @antonioguterres visited a health centre in Jordan, and met young Palestinian refugee students benefitting from @UNRWA 's work in the region. pic.twitter.com/z27n9VUSD3
— United Nations (@UN) March 29, 2024

“The content of the Government’s advice is confidential.”

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has repeatedly said that Israel, as the “occupying power” in Gaza, has responsibilities, including ensuring aid is supplied to civilians.

He has stressed that responsibility has “consequences”, including when the UK assesses whether Israel is compliant with international humanitarian law.

When he appeared in front of Kearns’ committee in January, Lord Cameron was repeatedly questioned about the legal advice he has received.

“I cannot recall every single bit of paper that has been put in front of me,” he told Kearns.

“I look at everything. Of course, there are a lot of things that have happened where you think surely that was something that shouldn’t have happened.”

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of more than 50 MPs and peers called on the UK to end its pause in funding the UN’s humanitarian relief agency in Palestine.

The UK was among a group of countries which halted funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) amid allegations from Israel that some staff members were involved in the October 7 atrocities carried out by Hamas.

In a letter to Lord Cameron, the MPs and peers called for clarity about why the UK decided to suspend funding and why interim reports from investigations into UNRWA had not been enough to resume the supply of money.

The UK Government has said no funding is due from Britain to UNRWA until the end of April and it is awaiting the findings of both a review of the agency by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and a UN investigation into the October 7 claims.

The letter, from MP Brendan O’Hara, SNP foreign affairs spokesman, and signed by colleagues from all main parties, said funding should be restored “without delay”.