More than 800 lawyers, judges, and academics in the UK have signed an open letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to impose sanctions on the Israeli government and its ministers over the Gaza war. The letter urges the British government to take concrete action to halt “serious violations of international law” being committed by Israel.
The signatories, including senior legal figures and former supreme court and court of appeal judges, demand that the UK government adhere to its fundamental international legal obligations and “use all available means to secure an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to ensure the urgent, unconditional and unimpeded resumption of aid” to Palestinians.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide occurring,” the letter states, highlighting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law. It references recent comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who expressed Israel’s intention to “take control of all the territory of the [Gaza] Strip” and “conquer, cleanse and stay – until Hamas is destroyed”.
The letter also calls on the UK to confirm it would adhere to its obligation to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to Israel’s actions in Gaza. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Sir Alan Moses, a former appeals court judge who signed the letter, emphasized the importance of upholding international law, stating, “We, in the UK, cannot expect peace unless we fulfil our obligations under international law. It is an exercise in futility for a government to say it upholds the rule of law, if it then does nothing to demonstrate it.”
Conor Gearty, a professor of human rights law at the London School of Economics, warned that Israel’s “unrelenting breaches of international law” pose a threat to “the very future of international law itself”. He added, “Imagine a world without rules: anarchy loosed upon the world. These lawyers know what that would look like – and because they do, they are desperate to avoid it.”
The UK has suspended negotiations of a new trade deal with Israel, and the letter calls for further action, including imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers and figures reasonably suspected of involvement in unlawful conduct, reviewing existing trade ties with Israel, and suspending a roadmap for a closer UK-Israel partnership.