LONDON: Britain must stop arming Israel after the International Court of Justice ruled that member states must not “aid or assist” the occupation of Palestinian territories, a British lawyer representing Palestine at the ICJ said.
Philip Sands Casey said the ICJ advisory opinion would 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 states, including the United Kingdom, to assist or not assist in the maintenance of the current situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including (East) Jerusalem,” Sands told The Guardian.
“That legal obligation prevents the sale of military material that could be used directly or indirectly to maintain Israel's illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Sands, a professor at University College London and a visiting professor at Harvard, said the decision was not binding but that the UN General Assembly would likely vote on whether to adopt the position and then recognize it. Official statements of law and laws to be followed by the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
He added: “How does the UK vote on this? Does it vote against, or abstain? If the government is true to its promise to respect international law, given the nature and detail of the ICJ advisory opinion, you would expect them, at the very least, not to vote against.
“This could be an early case in relation to the United States, which will almost certainly vote against, despite the fact that the American judge was part of the large majority.”
He said it would also affect imports into the UK from Israeli settlements, adding: “Anything produced in the occupied territories, such as food, or sold there on the internet, is in principle subject to an international prohibition, if it can be said to aid or abet the maintenance of an illegal occupation.” “
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the new Labor government was carrying out a “comprehensive review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law” and that arms exports were expected to be a focus of the review.
Labor has pledged to recognize a Palestinian state in its recent election manifesto, 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 the right to an independent and sovereign state.”
Sands said: “Ultimately, state recognition is a political matter, not a legal obligation, so there is a discretionary element.
“However, ICJ judges have clearly stated that self-determination means that the Palestinian people 'have the right to an independent and sovereign state.'
“While around 150 states (out of around 200) recognize Palestine as a state, the UK is part of a small and shrinking group that refuses to do so.”
On July 19, the previous UK Conservative government responded to the ICJ's opinion by saying it was “considering it carefully before reacting”.
In 2023, it submitted a 43-page legal opinion opposing the ICJ's investigation into the Israeli occupation.
