The British government has determined that Israel has not committed genocide in its military campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ Iranian-backed terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
It is the first time the U.K. government has explicitly said that it does not consider what is happening in Gaza a genocide, The Times of London reported Monday.
Last week, then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote in a letter to Sarah Champion, chair of the Parliament’s International Development Committee, marking a significant shift in the country’s position.
Champion had demanded answers from Lammy on how the U.K.’s policy of supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets that have been sent to Israel indirectly complied with its international duty to prevent genocide.
“As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,'” wrote Lammy, who has been moved to deputy prime minister after a shake-up of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Cabinet. “The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
Until last week, the British government had maintained that the question of whether Israel had committed genocide was a matter for the courts and not for national governments to determine, the Times reported. Israel has adamantly rejected any charges of genocide.
In his letter, Lammy wrote that despite the government’s conclusion, Israel’s actions in Gaza had been “utterly appalling” given the high number of civilian casualties and the “extensive destruction” caused, according to the Times.
Lammy wrote that the Foreign Office conducted several assessments on the question of genocide, including when the U.K. government decided to exempt British-made parts for the F-35 jet from the suspension of 30 arms export licenses to Israel, the Times reported.
The U.K. government suspended export licenses to Israel last September over concerns British-made weapons could be used in Gaza in violation of international law. However, it exempted components for the U.S.-produced F-35 fighter jets because the program is part of a wider NATO defense effort considered crucial for maintaining international peace.
Although the International Court of Justice has warned about the risks of genocide, it has not found Israel to be in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, nor has it found Israel to be committing genocide, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“The British Government has now been forced to admit that the hateful rhetoric frequently published about Israel committing genocide is false,” Sir Michael Ellis KC, former attorney general for England and Wales, told the Post on Monday. He criticized the fact that the admission was buried in an “obscure letter released at midnight on a Friday during a ministerial reshuffle in the hope no one would notice.”
Nevertheless, he said, “it is now confirmed that the U.K. Government has concluded that Israel is not committing ‘genocide. There has never been any evidence of such a thing, but this irresponsible Government persists in repeating the slurs and ramping up hatred and diplomatic attacks against Israel. It also shamefully fails to hold Hamas terrorists to account and thus helps to prolong the conflict in the Middle East.”
News of the letter came as Starmer met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday in London. Starmer is set to recognize a Palestinian state later this month unless Israel meets strict conditions. Starmer is scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday.
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