The UK Government does not believe Israel’s actions in the Gaza strip constitute genocide, a letter from the Foreign Office has said.
Previously, the Labour Government said it was a question for the courts, not a national government if Israel had committed a genocide.
But, last week, a letter to the international development committee from the then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy showed a shift in position.
In the correspondence, seen by The Times, a letter from Mr Lammy said an assessment conducted by the Foreign Office found Israel’s actions in Palestine were not genocide.
The letter, which was sent ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle following Angela Rayner’s resignation, said: ‘As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.
‘The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.’
This is the first time the UK Government has explicitly confirmed that it does not believe what is transpiring in Gaza is a genocide.
Previously in May, Hamish Falconer, Minister for the Middle East, said to MPs that the government’s position was that ‘any formal determination’ of genocide was a matter for a ‘competent court’ not ‘non-judicial bodies’.
Last year, the now-Deputy Prime Minister said the government was ‘not an international court’.
‘We have not — and could not — arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law,’ he said.
The letter was sent as a response to Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, who wanted answers regarding the UK’s supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets that have made their way to Israel.
And despite Mr Lammy saying Israel’s actions were ‘utterly appalling’, owing to the ‘extensive destruction’ caused as well as the high number of civilian fatalities, the government found no genocide was ongoing.
He said the country ‘must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing’.
The MP for Tottenham said the Foreign Office had conducted numerous assessments on the question of genocide.
This also included when the government decided to excuse parts of the F-35 jet made in Britain from the suspension of 30 arms export licences to Israel.
It comes after the UK Government decided to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licences to the Middle Eastern country last September.
Despite suspending some licences over fears British-made weaponry was being used to violate international law, it exempted the jet parts, as the aircrafts were part of a wider Nato defence programme.
The Daily Mail has approached David Lammy, the Foreign Office and No 10 Downing Street for comment.
