LONDON: The UK government “may be complicit in war crimes,” according to a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official who has resigned over arms sales to Israel.
Mark Smith, who was based at the British Embassy in Dublin and worked on both arms export licenses and counterterrorism measures, told colleagues in an email seen by the BBC that he had raised concerns “at every level” in the FCDO but received only basic acknowledgments over his queries.
In the email, sent to hundreds of government officials, Smith said “each day” he and others involved in Middle East arms export licensing assessments were seeing “clear and unquestionable examples” of war crimes committed in Gaza by Israeli forces, and there was “no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel.”
Smith described himself as “a subject matter expert in the domain of arms sales policy” after “a long career in the diplomatic service,” adding: “As a fully cleared officer raising serious concerns of illegality in this Department, to be disregarded in this way is deeply troubling. It is my duty as a public servant to raise this.”
He wrote: “Senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed open genocidal intent, Israeli soldiers take videos deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property.”
Smith added: “Whole streets and universities have been demolished, humanitarian aid is being blocked and civilians are regularly left with no safe quarter to flee to. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are regularly targeted. These are War Crimes.”
The email continued: “Ministers claim that the UK has one of the most ‘robust and transparent’ arms export licensing regimes in the world, however this is the opposite of the truth.”
The UK has granted arms export licenses worth £574 million ($727 million) to Israel since 2008, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade. The government recently said this was “relatively small,” worth just £42 million in 2022.
The licenses were placed under review by Foreign Secretary David Lammy “on day one in office,” according to the FCDO, after the Labour Party took power in the UK general election on July 4.
The BBC reported that dissent among British, US and EU officials over potential war crimes and breaches of international law by Israel had reached “unprecedented levels” since last October, but that resignations such as Smith’s remained “extremely rare for the British government.”
In May, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor applied for arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes.
The FCDO declined to comment on Smith’s resignation. “This government is committed to upholding international law. We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violations of International Humanitarian Law,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with International Humanitarian Law, which the Foreign Secretary initiated on day one in office. We will provide an update as soon as that review process has been completed.”
