UK FM David Cameron to set out conditions for arms sales to Israel amid Gaza war
UK Foreign Minister David Cameron is set to explain why the country is continuing to sell arms to Israel as pressure mounts on the government to suspend arms sale release the legal advice it received regarding them.
Cameron, who is in the US and plans to discuss Israel's war on Gaza with his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will give an update on the state of the UK's arms sales regime, according to The Guardian.
However, the government confirmed it will not publish the legal advice it received regarding selling arms to Israel during its war on Gaza, noting a long-standing convention that legal advice is not published on such issues.
The scrutiny on UK arms sales to Israel follows an Israeli attack on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy that killed seven humanitarian aid workers, including three British nationals.
Both Conservative MP Alicia Kearns and peer Nicholas Soames have called on the government to suspend arms exports to Israel.
Kearns also said that she believed the UK the government had received legal advice saying Israel has broken international humanitarian law.
Cameron is set to push for an investigation into the Israeli attack of the WCK convoy, and discuss the delivery of aid and the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza, the foreign office said.
Calls for a suspension of arms sales have also come from Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and senior figures within the Labour Party including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed 33,360 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with a further 75,993 injured.
South Africa has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of breaking its responsibilities under the Genocide Convention.
A preliminary verdict by the court in January found it was plausible Israel was committing acts of genocide in Gaza.
The verdict prompted a Dutch court order for the suspension of the supply of F-35 components from The Netherlands to Israel over violations of international law in Gaza.
In addition, the Belgian regional government of Wallonia suspended two export licenses of gunpowder to Israel citing the ICJ ruling and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave.