LONDON: Britain must stop supplying arms to Israel after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that member states must not “provide aid or support” to the occupied Palestinian territory, a British lawyer representing the Palestinians at the ICJ said.
Philip Sands KC said the ICJ's advisory opinion would cause problems for Britain, which has failed to stop arms exports to Israel since the start of the Gaza war, which has killed some 40,000 Palestinians.
“The most urgent issue is the obligation on states, including the UK, in their advisory opinions not to support or assist in maintaining the status quo in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Sands told the Guardian.
“The legal obligation prohibits the sale of military materials that could be used directly or indirectly to maintain Israel's illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory.”
Sands, a professor at University College London and visiting professor at Harvard, said the ruling is not binding but will likely be followed by a vote by the U.N. General Assembly on whether to adopt the position, and until then, “it will be accepted as an authoritative statement of law and will be followed as law by the U.N. and its specialized agencies.”
He added: “How will the UK vote on this? Will it vote no, or will it abstain? If the government is committed to respecting international law, then given the nature and detail of the ICJ advisory opinion, you would expect at least a non-vote.
“This could be an early problem in relations with the United States, which will almost certainly vote against the bill, despite the fact that the U.S. justices are in the majority.”
He also said it would affect imports into Britain from Israeli settlements, adding: “Anything produced in the occupied territories, such as food, or anything sold over the internet, if it can be said to aid or support the maintenance of the illegal occupation, is in principle subject to an international ban.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the new Labour government is carrying out a “comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law”, with arms exports expected to be a focus of the review.
Labour also pledged in its recent election manifesto to recognise a Palestinian state, but gave no timetable for when that would happen.
In its advisory opinion, the ICJ noted “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, which includes the right to an independent and sovereign state.”
“Ultimately, state approval is a political matter, not a legal obligation, so there is a discretionary element to it,” Sands said.
“Nevertheless, the ICJ judges have made it clear that the right to self-determination means that the Palestinian people have the 'right to an independent and sovereign state.
“About 150 states (out of nearly 200) have recognised Palestine as a state, but Britain is one of a declining minority that rejects it.”
On July 19, the previous British Conservative government responded to the ICJ's opinion, saying it was “considering it carefully before responding”.
In 2023, it submitted a 43-page legal opinion opposing an ICJ investigation into the Israeli occupation.
