Hundreds of lawmakers worldwide demand cutting arms sales to Israel

UN experts have recently warned that providing Israel with arms is likely to constitute a violation of international law

News Desk

MAR 1, 2024

https://thecradle.co/articles/hundreds-of-lawmakers-worldwide-demand-cutting-arms-sales-to-israel

Over 200 MPs from 12 states signed a letter urging their governments to impose a ban on weapons sales to Israel. 

In the letter, organized by Progressive International and signed on 1 March, the MPs say they refuse to be complicit in “Israel’s grave violation of international law” in Gaza. 

The organizers believe that certain governments supplying arms to the Israeli military could be held legally accountable, given the scale of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Those who signed the letter are all MPs of states that supply Israel with military aid. 

Nine are current or former party leaders, including the former British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights. 

The Australian Green Party leader, Larissa Waters, and other MPs from Canada, France, Belgium, and elsewhere signed the letter. Congresswomen Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib were the only signatories from the US. 

“An arms embargo has moved beyond a moral necessity to become a legal requirement,” the MPs wrote, given the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that Israel must ensure its forces do not engage in genocidal acts. 

“Any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately. We know that lethal weapons and their parts, made or shipped through our countries, currently aid the Israeli assault on Palestine that has claimed over 30,000 lives across Gaza and the West Bank,” the letter added. 

Since the ICJ ruling in late January, the court also heard a case arguing the illegality of Israel’s occupation in the West Bank. However, the ICJ has no enforcement power, as its rulings must be backed by the UN Security Council. 

Friday’s letter comes less than two weeks after the British High Court of Justice dismissed a lawsuit aimed at halting arms sales to Israel. 

Last week, UN experts warned states that arms exports to Israel likely constitute violations of international law. 

Several states, including Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium’s Walloon government, have taken steps to avoid being complicit in war crimes over arms sales to Israel.