London: A British lawyer representing Palestine at the International Court of Justice said that Britain should stop arming Israel after the International Court of Justice declared that member states should not “aid or assist” in occupying Palestinian lands. slow
Philip Sands QC said the ICJ's advisory opinion would cause problems for the UK, which has not stopped arms exports since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed around 40,000 Palestinians.
The most urgent issue is the requirement in the consultative opinion of the governments, which includes the UK, not to help or help to maintain the current situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including Jerusalem (East). Sands told the Guardian.
This legal obligation prevents the sale of military materials that could be used directly or indirectly to help Israel maintain its illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Sands, a professor at University College London and a visiting professor at Harvard, said the ruling was not binding, but that it would likely be voted on at the UN General Assembly and then “recognised”. as an authoritative statement of law and a statement that the United Nations and its specialized agencies will follow as law.”
He added: How will Britain vote for it? Will he vote against or abstain? If the government is true to its promise to respect international law given the nature and details of the ICJ advisory opinion, you would at least expect them not to vote against it.
“This could be an early issue in relations with the United States, which will almost certainly vote against, despite the fact that the American judge was part of the large majority.”
Stating that this will also affect imports from Israeli settlements to Britain, he added: Everything that is produced in the occupied territories, such as food or sold there via the Internet, is basically subject to an international ban. It can be said that it aids or abets the maintenance of the illegal occupation.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that the new Labor government is conducting a “comprehensive review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law”, with arms exports expected to be at the center of the review.
Labor also pledged in its recent election manifesto to recognize the state of Palestine, but did not set a timetable for when that would happen.
In its advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice referred to “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including its right to have an independent and sovereign state.”
“Ultimately, recognizing a government is a political matter, not a legal requirement, so there is an element of discretion,” Sands said.
However, judges of the International Court of Justice have clearly stated that self-determination means that the Palestinian people have the “right to an independent and sovereign state”.
Around 150 countries (out of 200) recognize Palestine as a state, the UK is part of a small and shrinking group that refuses to do so.
On July 19, Britain's previous Conservative government responded to the ICJ's opinion by saying it would “consider it carefully before responding”.
In 2023, it issued a 43-page legal opinion opposing the International Court of Justice's investigation into Israel's occupation.
