UK poll shows majority support ban of arms sales to Israel

An opinion poll carried out in the United Kingdom showed the majority of voters back a ban on arms sales to Israel.

The poll, commissioned by nonprofit Action for Humanity and carried out before the recent airstrike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers — three of them British, is one of the first surveys of British public feeling over the conflict in Gaza.

It showed that 56 percent of respondents supported banning the sales of arms and spare parts to Israel. In addition, 59 percent of them thought Israel was violating human rights in the conflict.

The BBC quoted figures from the London-based pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade, which said the UK had made arms sales to Israel worth more than 574 million pounds ($730 million) since 2008. And according to Business Minister Greg Hands, those sales were worth 42 million pounds in 2022.

The UK government said it backs Israel's right to defend itself. As recently as February, a statement issued by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said he had "reaffirmed the UK's continued support for Israel's right to defend its people against Hamas' terror and ensure its long-term security" in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The opposition Labour Party said arms sales must stop if government lawyers believe Israel's actions in Gaza risk breaking international law. Former national security adviser Peter Ricketts has also called for a halt, saying there is "abundant evidence now that Israel hasn't been taking enough care to fulfill its obligations on the safety of civilians".

A letter signed by more than 600 lawyers on Thursday placed more pressure on the UK government to suspend arms export licenses to Israel. Signatories including former Supreme Court judges said the government risked breaching international law by continuing to allow the export of weapons to Israel.

"The provision of military assistance and material to Israel may render the UK complicit in genocide as well as serious breaches of International Humanitarian Law," the judges, barristers and legal academics said in a 17-page letter to Sunak.

Their call was also backed by Ricketts and Alex Younger, former head of the MI6 foreign spy service. They said Britain needed to use any leverage it could to persuade Israel, and its biggest backer the United States, to change course in the conflict.

One of the former justices, Jonathan Sumption, told BBC Radio he was concerned the British government had lost sight of its own obligations under international law.

The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party have also demanded that sales be suspended, but Sunak has responded by saying the government adheres to a "very careful licensing regime".

On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council demanded a halt to all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in its war in Gaza. The resolution marked the first time the UN top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever war to beset the besieged Palestinian territory.

Agencies contributed to this story.

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