More than 800 lawyers, academics, and retired senior judges, including former Supreme Court judges, have called on the British government to impose sanctions on the Israeli occupation government and its ministers, and to consider suspending it from the United Nations to comply with its fundamental international legal obligations.
In a letter to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, they welcomed the joint statement he issued last week with the leaders of France and Canada, in which he warned of their readiness to take “concrete measures” against the occupation, and urged him to act immediately to take urgent and decisive action to avert the destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The signatories to the letter, which includes former Supreme Court judges Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, Court of Appeal judges, and more than 70 Supreme Court judges, said that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law are being committed in Palestine.
The letter stated that “there is mounting evidence of genocide, or at least a serious risk of it, being committed,” highlighting recent comments by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Smotrich, who said the Israeli military would wipe out the rest of the Gaza Strip.
The signatories pointed out to Starmer that “all states, including the UK, are legally obligated to take all reasonable steps within their power to prevent and punish genocide; ensure respect for international humanitarian law; and end violations of the right to self-determination.
“The UK’s actions to date have failed to meet these standards. The international community’s failure to respect international law in relation to the occupied Palestinian territories contributes to a deteriorating international climate of lawlessness and impunity and puts the international legal order itself at risk. Your government must act now, before it is too late.”
