A British diplomat says he has resigned from the Foreign Office because he believes that arms sales to Israel may be making the UK “complicit in war crimes."
On Friday, Mark Smith, who was Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Dublin, posted a long online resignation letter in which he wrote that “senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed open genocidal intent” and “Israeli soldiers take videos deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property."
Such behavior, Smith said, was daily “clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza perpetuated by the state of Israel.”
He said it was “with sadness that I resign after a long career in the diplomatic service, however I can no longer carry out my duties in the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in war crimes.”
Israel denies any breach of international law and describes its operations in Gaza as a “just war” in response to Hamas’s 7 October killings.
The outgoing diplomat says he previously presided over the arms export licensing assessment in the Middle East and North African Department, which he says makes him a “subject matter expert."
“There is no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel and yet somehow it continues,” he writes.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “This government is committed to upholding international law. We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
“There is an ongoing review process to assess whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law, which the Foreign Secretary [David Lammy] initiated on day one in office.”
The spokesperson said the Foreign Office would not comment on individual cases.
This article is reprinted with permission of the Jewish News