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Government lawyers will seek to determine whether Israel violated international humanitarian law by restricting access to aid in the Gaza Strip, the former attorney general said. I.
Dominic Grieve, the government’s top legal expert from 2010 to 2014, said Foreign Office lawyers had warned that aid to Gaza had been deliberately blocked before handing down the ban on arms exports to Israel. He said that there is a high possibility that he will consider whether the
Mr Grieve suggested it would be easier for the UK to make such a legal judgment than to conclude whether Israel was acting proportionately in its war with Hamas.
“There is an argument for proportionality, but in reality it may actually be a very difficult argument to say this is on one side and this is on the other side,” he said afterward. He added: Providing aid seemed to me to be a very important and pressing issue. So this seems to me to be an issue where lawyers are likely to say, “Sorry, this is completely the wrong position.” ”
He added that while the killing of seven aid workers, including three British veterans, could be called an accident by Israel, failure to provide aid to Gaza “quickly becomes illegal.”
Last week, the United Nations Supreme Court ordered Israel to allow unhindered aid flows into Gaza to avert starvation.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must act “without delay” to enable “the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
Israel said claims that it was blocking aid were “totally baseless.”
What the law requires:
International humanitarian law states that states or non-state armed groups involved in a conflict must allow the prompt and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid during armed conflicts and freedom of movement for humanitarian workers in conflict areas. It is stipulated that
International humanitarian law is based on the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which, under Article 55, states that in any conflict an occupying power has an obligation to allow civilians access to food and medicine. There is.
In particular, it states:[The occupying power] If the resources of the occupied territory are insufficient, it is necessary to bring in necessary food supplies, medical stores and other goods.
Mr Grieve said he believed Foreign Secretary Cameron was referring to the issue of Western allies struggling to get aid to Gaza when he spoke of gathering legal advice for the government on March 8. He said there was.
“I don’t think it needs to meet the criteria for it to be a war crime to say that this is a breach of international humanitarian law and the principles of the Geneva Conventions. So the UK should not be considered to have committed a war crime.” “If we do anything to support Israel in an armed conflict, that would be a justification for blocking military exports,” he added.
Rishi Sunak said the government would put arms exports to Israel under “careful” review following the killings of three British aid workers this week.
The Prime Minister said: “I think our country has always adhered to a very prudent export licensing system.
“There are a set of rules, regulations and procedures that we must always follow, and I have consistently made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu since the beginning of this conflict that we must, of course, protect our country and our people from attacks.” “In response to attacks from Hamas, they must protect the lives of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, but sadly too many civilians have already lost their lives.” ing.
He added: “Please give us more aid to Gaza. A temporary pause and, most importantly, the release of the hostages, and that is what we will continue to seek.”
Speaking ahead of a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would closely monitor Israel’s efforts to increase aid to Gaza.
The foreign minister welcomed Israel’s commitment to thoroughly investigate the attack on the aid convoy and called on Israel to allow more aid to flow into Gaza.
“We also welcome the fact that he talked about more aid to Gaza, up to 500 trucks a day,” he said. “That’s essential. We’ve been promised these things for a while and we really need them to be delivered, such as extended opening hours at key intersections.
“But, of course, additional aid will not work unless there is proper deconfliction, unless we can deliver aid around Gaza and avoid the kind of horrific incidents we have seen in recent days.
“It is extremely important and the UK will be watching very closely to ensure that it happens.”