'I can no longer carry out my duties in the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in War Crimes,' says Mark Smith in resignation letter
Burak Bir |18.08.2024
Activists and legal experts criticize Labour’s mixed signals and call for clarity on sales of weapons to Israel
'No change' in arms export licenses approach to Israel: UK government
UK approves over 100 arms export licenses to Israel since Oct. 7, new data shows
LONDON
A British diplomat has resigned over the UK's "complicity in war crimes" in Gaza, saying there is "no justification" for the UK's continued arms sales to Israel.
A resignation letter, criticizing the government's continuing arms sales to Israel was reported by media on Friday, attributed to Mark Smith, a diplomat working at the Foreign Office.
Early Sunday, the BBC confirmed that the diplomat is indeed Smith who worked on counterterrorism has resigned in protest at arms sales to Israel.
"It is with sadness that I resign after a long career in the diplomatic service ... I can no longer carry out my duties in the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in War Crimes," read the letter.
The Foreign Office is said to have declined to comment on the individual case, saying the government is "committed to upholding international law."
Smith, who previously worked in Middle East arms export licensing assessment for the government, said: "Ministers claim that the UK has one of the most 'robust and transparent' arms export licensing regimes in the world, however this is the opposite of the truth."
He said each day they witness "clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of International Humanitarian Law" in Gaza perpetrated by Israel.
The letter added: "Over half of Gaza's homes and over 80% of commercial properties have been damaged or destroyed ... humanitarian aid is being blocked and civilians are regularly left with no safe quarter to flee to. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are regularly targeted. These are war crimes."
"There is no justification" for the UK's continued arms sales to Israel yet somehow it continues," he said.
"I have raised this at every level in the organisation including through an official whistle blowing investigation and received nothing more than 'thank you we have noted your concern,'" read the letter.
The resignation e-mail was sent to a wide set of distribution lists including hundreds of government officials, embassy staff and special advisers to Foreign Office ministers, according to the BBC.
The move was praised by many on social media, including by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
"I hope that more diplomats will follow the brave lead of Mark Smith and speak up against the enablers of Israel's atrocities," she wrote on X.
In June, the Department for Business and Trade said the UK has issued 108 arms export licenses to Israel since Oct. 7 – when the Gaza conflict began – while over 300 licenses were still active as of May.
British diplomat resigns due to his country's continued collusion with Zionist entity
Sat, 17 Aug 2024
LONDON August 17. 2024 (Saba) - Mark Smith, head of the African Programs and Expertise Department at the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has resigned from his position due to his country's government's continued collusion and sale of weapons to the Zionist entity, which is waging a brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The British website "Middle East Monitor" reported that Smith submitted his resignation letter under the title of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's complicity in Israeli war crimes, in which he said: "I can no longer perform my duties while I am aware that this ministry may be complicit in war crimes, as we witness every day clear examples of these crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza committed by Israel, whose credibility is beyond question."
“Senior members of the Israeli occupation government have openly expressed their intention to commit genocide, and videos show occupation soldiers deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property and openly admitting to raping and torturing prisoners.
Such actions, along with the displacement of more than 80 percent of the civilian population of Gaza, are war crimes,” Smith added, stressing that there is no justification for the continuation of British arms sales to “Israel” despite the fact that it continues in one way or another to commit more crimes.
Smith explained that “as an expert in the field of arms sales, I tried to express my concerns while in office, including through an official investigation into irregularities in arms sales to the Israeli entity, but my efforts did not result in anything,” stressing that ministers claim that Britain has one of the most robust and transparent arms export licensing systems in the world, but this is the opposite of the truth.
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