A high-ranking British diplomat resigns. He says he can no longer support arms sales to Israel if war crimes are being committed.
London – Mark Smith has resigned as counter-terrorism officer at the British Embassy in Dublin. He said he could not stop the obvious and regular war crimes in Gaza no longer support it, he explains in a letter. Israel at war under Benjamin Netanyahu blatantly and regularly violates international law – including with British weapons.
In his letter, Smith explains that he can no longer work for an institution that Accomplice to war crimes “As a former lead for arms export licensing, I am a subject matter expert in the field of arms sales policy. Every day we witness clear and undeniable examples of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip being committed by the State of Israel,” Smith writes.
Smith justifies resignation with Gaza war: “deliberately burning civilian property, destroying and looting”
Smith’s resignation letter has been circulating on several channels since the weekend. First, the British journalist Hind Hassan wrote on her X-Account on Friday (August 16). The diplomat writes: “Senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed their open genocidal intent. Israeli soldiers record videos, deliberately burn, destroy and loot civilian property, and openly admit to injuring and torturing prisoners.”
Smith told the BBC on Monday: “If you look at what constitutes a war crime, it is actually quite clear, even from what you see on television as an open source source, that the State of Israel is committing war crimes in plain sight.” Anyone who has a certain basic understanding of these things can see that war crimes are being committed. Not just once, not twice, not a few times, but quite obviously, openly and regularly.
Smith calls on colleagues to also take a stand against British arms exports to Israel
He said he had raised his concerns with the Secretary of State at “pretty much every level of the organization.” When asked what response he had received, he replied: “I resigned over this issue, so you can put the pieces together.” Suffice it to say that the responses were not satisfactory.
In view of his harsh criticism of British arms exports, he saw no other option than to resign. The British Foreign Office has some of the most brilliant, hardworking and kind-hearted people he has ever known and he is proud to work with them. In his letter, Smith calls on these very colleagues to join his statement: “I urge you as civil servants in good conscience to join the many colleagues who have raised concerns on this issue.”
Foreign Minister Lammy actually wanted restrictions on “offensive weapons in Gaza”
In his message, sent to hundreds of officials and advisers over the weekend, Smith said there was no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel, and yet somehow they were continuing. Guardian and other British media. The final resignation appears to have come as the British government was conducting a review of its arms export licensing regulations for Israel.
David Lammy, now Foreign Secretary, has previously called for a “pause” on sales from the opposition. Since taking office, however, he has said only that he is reviewing restrictions on “offensive weapons in Gaza.” Lammy’s review has been delayed by the deepening Middle East crisis and the legal difficulty of distinguishing between offensive and defensive weapons. Meanwhile, arms manufacturers seeking export licences to sell to Israel say they have been told that new licences have been suspended pending review. (lm)
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