A DUBLIN BASED British diplomat has resigned in protest because he believes Britain “may be complicit in war crimes” in its sales of arms to Israel.
Mark Smith, who said he was an expert in arms sales policy, was based at the UK’s embassy in Ireland and was involved in “counter terror” work.
He was a second secretary which is a relatively junior post in the British foreign service.
In a statement, circulating on line, Smith said he had written to the foreign secretary informing him of his resignation “and urging him to urgently review the UK approach to the situation in Gaza”.
“Each day we witness clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza perpetrated by the State of Israel,” Smith wrote in the resignation email.
He said concerns regarding the legality of arms sales that he raised “at every level” of the FCDO were “disregarded”, and accused the UK government of failing to have a “robust and transparent” arms exports licensing regime.
In a statement a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office said it was “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 violation of International Humanitarian Law.
““There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with International Humanitarian Law, which the Foreign Secretary initiated on day 1 in office. We will provide an update as soon as that review process has been completed,” the statement read.
The spokesperson would not be be drawn on the individual case.
After taking office last month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy ordered a legal review of whether UK-issued arms export licences to Israel were at risk of facilitating breaches of international humanitarian law.
Lammy has previously indicated that there would be no “blanket ban” on arms sales to Israel, but that he would “consider the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza”.
The UK has issued 42 military licenses to Israel between October 7 — the date of Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel — and the end of May, according to government data.
Since October 7, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 40,000 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
