LONDON: Britain should stop arming Israel after the International Court of Justice said member states should not “give aid or assistance” to the occupation of Palestinian territories, a British lawyer representing Palestine at the ICJ has said.
Philippe Sands KC said the ICJ's advisory opinion will cause problems for Britain, which has failed to stop arms exports since the start of Israel's war on Gaza which has killed around 40,000 Palestinians.
“The most immediate issue is the obligation in the advisory opinion on the states, which include Britain, not to assist or assist in maintaining the current situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including (East) Jerusalem.” Sands told The Guardian.
“The legal obligation excludes the sale of military material 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 visiting professor at Harvard, said the ruling is not binding but it is likely that a vote will follow in the UN General Assembly on whether to adopt the position, and until then it will be “recognised” as a authoritative statement of law and one which the UN and its professional bodies will follow as law.”
He added: “How does the UK vote on that? Will it vote against, or will it abstain? If the government is true to its word to respect international law, given the nature and detail of the ICJ's advisory opinion, you would expect you that they would at least not vote against.
“This may well be an early issue in relations with the United States, which will almost certainly vote against, even though the American judge was part of the large majority.”
He said it will also affect imports from Israeli settlements into the UK, adding: “Anything produced in the occupied territories, such as food, or sold there over the internet, is basically subject to the international ban, so to speak aid or assist in maintaining the illegal occupation.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the new Labor government is holding a “comprehensive review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law”, with arms exports expected to be the focus of the review.
Labor also pledged in its latest election manifesto to recognize a Palestinian state, but has not set a timeline for when that would happen.
In its advisory opinion, the ICJ cited “the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, including its right to an independent and sovereign state.”
Sands said: “Ultimately the recognition of a state is a political matter, not a legal obligation, so there is a discretionary element.
“Nevertheless, the ICJ judges have clearly stated that self-determination means that the Palestinian people 'have the right to an independent and sovereign state.'
“Around 150 states (out of almost 200) have recognized Palestine as a state, the UK is part of a small and shrinking group that refuses to do so.”
On July 19, the former British Conservative government responded to the ICJ's opinion by saying it “considered it carefully before responding.”
In 2023, it filed a 43-page legal opinion opposing the ICJ's investigation into the Israeli occupation.
