A way to influence the course of the conflict? Pressure increased on Wednesday on the British government to re-examine or even suspend its arms sales to Israel after the death in Gaza of seven humanitarian workers, including three British, which angered London.
According to a report published in January by humanitarian organizations, a large part of the weapons used by Israel in Gaza, where the country is waging a war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, contain parts from the United Kingdom.
The opposition parties SNP (Scottish separatists) and Lib-Dem (centrists), as well as several MPs from the ruling Conservative party, called for an immediate suspension of these exports after the Israeli strike on Monday in Deir al-Balah which killed seven members of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK, based in the United States). Among them were Britons John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47.
Also read Gaza: what is the NGO World Central Kitchen, seven members of which were killed by the Israeli army?
“To think that British weapons could be used for strikes like these is completely unacceptable,” stormed the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey. More cautiously, the Labor Party, favorite to win the legislative elections this year, reiterated its call on the government to publish its legal assessment concerning possible violations of international law by Israel in Gaza.
“A series of rules and procedures”
“If (this assessment) concludes that there is a clear risk that British weapons will be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law, it is time to suspend the sale of these weapons,” said David Lammy, head of the international issues at Labour. Questioned on the subject by the daily The Sun, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured that arms exports followed “a very careful process” with “a series of rules and procedures that (the country intended) to always respect”.
The conservative leader called on Tuesday evening from his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for an independent investigation and deplored the deaths of humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza: "The situation is becoming more and more intolerable", he warned according to his services, calling for “immediate” measures to facilitate the work of humanitarians and protect civilians.
Also read: Stop delivering weapons to Israel, diplomatic pressure or simple “announcement effect”?
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an attack in southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. . According to Israel, around 250 people were kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages, including 34 who died in Gaza.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an intense bombing campaign on Gaza, followed by a ground offensive that saw its soldiers advance from the north to the south of the territory. Nearly 33,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed in Israeli operations, according to the Hamas health ministry.