Campaigners have written to the directors of 20 arms manufacturers based in the UK saying they may face criminal liability for failing to prevent war crimes if their companies continue to sell military equipment to Israel.
The letter argues the company directors face a “potential criminal liability for atrocity crimes currently taking place in Gaza”, even though the UK government has continued to authorise arms sales to Israel since the start of the war with Hamas.
In it, the groups set out the legal framework governing war crimes and cite Israeli military actions they say “constitutes criminal conduct”.
Israel is under growing international legal pressure over its prosecution of the war against Hamas in Gaza, now into its ninth month, amid allegations that the conduct of its offensive is at risk of becoming genocidal because of the dire humanitarian consequences faced by civilians caught up in the fighting.
But Israel says it is necessary to eliminate Hamas as a military and political force in response to the violent raid on 7 October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed by attacking fighters.
“The fact that they are hiding behind a licensing system which is unfit for purpose will not protect them if and when they face a jury of their peers, because ordinary people can see through politicians’ obfuscation,” she added.
The original article contains 594 words, the summary contains 221 words. Saved 63%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!