- UK warned of complicity in Gaza.
- Legal action for aiding Israel.
- Concerns over civilian casualties and war crimes.
Co-director of a pro-Palestinian organisation Crispin Blunt told that he is uncertain whether his Westminster colleagues are cognizant of the “legal peril they are in.” Israel is currently facing criticism for its directive to evacuate over a million individuals from their residences in Gaza.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has warned that the United Kingdom could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza and could face legal action if it does not do more to “restrain” Israel.
As co-director of the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), Mr. Blunt has announced plans to pursue UK officials for “aiding and abetting war crimes in Gaza.
This action is in reaction to Israel’s directive that 1.2 million individuals residing in the northern region of the Gaza Strip evacuate their residences without delay and relocate to the southern area.
Mr. Blunt stated, “I am uncertain whether [his] colleagues have realised the legal danger they are facing” and that “everyone must take action to restrain individuals” if they are aware that war crimes are imminent.
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“If you know that a party is going to commit a war crime – and this forcible transfer of people is a precise breach of one of the statutes that governs international law and all states in this area – then you are making yourself complicit,” according to him.
“And as international law has developed in this area, the fact of being complicit makes you equally guilty to the party carrying out the crime.”
In response, the Foreign Office stated on Saturday that Israel has the “right to defend itself” and should take “all possible measures to protect ordinary Palestinians and facilitate humanitarian aid.”
“Slaughtered Palestinian children”
Authorities report 1,900 Palestinian deaths, 583 of them children, as Israel bombards the densely populated Gaza Strip despite warnings.
Israel appears to be preparing for a ground offensive in response to Hamas’s violent attack of a week ago, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and soldiers and the abduction of over one hundred individuals.
In addition to obstructing the passage of products into Gaza, an area inhabited by 2.3 million individuals, the Israelis have severed power to the region, leaving fuel supplies for emergency services perilously low.
Moreover, since the Egyptian frontier remains closed and no humanitarian corridor has been agreed upon, Gazans are confined to two major roads for further southward escape.
“Where is this headed?”
“Of course our hearts all go out to the state of Israel and the people there for the appalling atrocity committed,” Mr. Blunt stated.
“We can’t watch one crime after another, which worsens the situation and is wrong.”
Israel, he continued, has “long enjoyed an exceptional status and immunity from international law.” He implored the United Kingdom to support United Nations demands for a cessation of hostilities and the lifting of the total blockade.
This must cease,” stated Mr. Crispin. “If in response to the atrocity of last Saturday is an illegal atrocity that is even worse in scale – where does this lead?”
When queried about the evacuation order, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) responded, “People are listening and adhering.”
“Our activities continue to expand,” he continued, adding that “remembering where we were a week ago” is crucial.
“At the time, our towns were engulfed in a massacre, and we are resolute in our mission to prevent this from ever occurring again.” “Our current objective is to eliminate Hamas wherever they may be.”
When queried about the necessity for Israel to reconsider its hasty evacuation policy, he responded that the IDF was “absolutely determined to destroy Hamas’s capabilities and protect the Israeli people.”
The British stance “introduces a flamethrower” into the situation.
The unwavering endorsement of Israel by Downing Street has led to allegations that the political leaders of the United Kingdom authorised an attack against Hamas in violation of international law.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, criticised the British government for granting Israel “absolute autonomy” by stating that it “has the right to defend itself.”
She disclosed: “[The UK has] already given Israel carte blanche to do whatever it pleases, because look at the annexation that has been announced officially this year of large swathes of the West Bank.”
“Has there been any response to this?” Beyond what I am aware of, excluding intermittent half-utterances of condemnation and verbal expressions of disagreement.
Former Israeli negotiator under the Labour administration of Ehud Barak, Daniel Levy, has accused the United Kingdom of “bringing a flamethrower rather than a fire extinguisher” to the current situation.
He indicated that there was a “missing part of the sentence, in ‘Israel has the right to defend itself – while respecting international law, international humanitarian law, laws of war and otherwise’.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson stated that Israel was the target of a “horrendously brutal terrorist attack” and that Hamas alone is “culpable for the conflict.”
“Our position is in favour of Israel’s right to defend itself and combat terrorism. They stated that, in contrast to Hamas, Israeli President Herzog has declared that his nation’s armed forces will function in adherence to international law.
“Given that Hamas has embedded itself in the civilian population in Gaza, it’s important that Israel takes all possible measures to protect ordinary Palestinians and facilitate humanitarian aid.”
