Lammy visited Israel on Friday, making a joint trip with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne, where they met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer….reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy during his recent trip to Israel, Hebrew media reported.
London made several requests for Lammy to hold a meeting with the Israeli premier, according to Channel 13 and The Times of Israel.
However, the British government was informed that Netanyahu had a scheduling conflict.
Channel 13 cited Israeli sources as saying that Netanyahu was angry at the new UK Labour government for its decision to drop London’s rejection of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The ICC decision also applies to Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif.
“On the ICC submission… I can confirm the government will not be pursuing (the proposal) in line with our long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide on,” a UK government spokesman said last month.
Lammy visited Israel on Friday, making a joint trip with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne, where they met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
“The time for a deal for those hostages to be returned, for aid to get in in the quantities that are necessary in Gaza, and for the fighting to stop, is now,” the foreign secretary said.
“The risk of the situation spiraling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region,” he added, warning of a “dangerous moment for the Middle East.”
Ceasefire talks – which took place in Qatar on Friday – ended without any progress, as Hamas opted out of this latest round due to constant obstruction and procrastination from Netanyahu.
Israel’s allies have been scrambling to prevent Iran and Hezbollah from retaliating to the Israeli attacks on their capitals last month, expressing hope that reaching an agreement to end the war in Gaza could stymie an incoming response and avoid a larger-scale regional war.
Foreign Office official resigns in protest over Israel arms sales
A British Foreign Office official who worked on counter terrorism has resigned in protest at arms sales to Israel, saying the UK government “may be complicit in war crimes”.
Mark Smith wrote to colleagues on Friday, saying he had raised concerns “at every level” in the Foreign Office, including through an official whistle blowing mechanism.
Smith, who was based at the British Embassy in Dublin, added he had received nothing more than basic acknowledgments. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) declined to comment on an individual case but said the government was committed to upholding international law.
The resignation email, which has been seen by the BBC, was sent to a wide set of distribution lists including hundreds of government officials, embassy staff and special advisors to Foreign Office ministers.
Smith said he had previously worked in Middle East arms export licensing assessment for the government and “each day” colleagues were witnessing “clear and unquestionable examples” of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.
“Senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed open genocidal intent, Israeli soldiers take videos deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property,” he wrote. “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.”
He said there was “no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel”. The FCDO said Foreign Secretary David Lammy had initiated a review “on day one in office” to assess whether Israel was complying with international humanitarian law.
While hundreds of officials in the UK, Europe and the US have registered unprecedented levels of dissent at their governments’ policies towards Israel over the war in Gaza, there have been far fewer known cases of so-called principled resignations, meaning Mr Smith’s case is extremely rare for the British government.
According to the email, his role was “Second Secretary Counter Terrorism” – understood to be a relatively junior rank, but one in which he described himself as “a subject matter expert in the domain of arms sales policy” after “a long career in the diplomatic service”.
His 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.”
“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.”
Responding to previous cases of dissent by Western officials over policy and arms supply, Israel’s government has said it is acting to defeat Hamas as “a genocidal terrorist organisation which commits war crimes as well as crimes against humanity”.
In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister, as well as for leaders of Hamas, for war crimes, but these have yet to be issued.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “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.”
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