A BRITISH diplomat has resigned over Britain’s involvement in war crimes in Gaza.
He said there was no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel. A resignation letter, which criticised the government’s continued arms sales to Israel, was reported by media on Friday (16/8).
It was linked to Mark Smith, a diplomat working at the Foreign Office. On Sunday morning, the BBC confirmed that the diplomat, who worked on counterterrorism, had resigned in protest at arms sales to Israel.
The letter read, “It is with great sadness that I resign after a long career in the diplomatic service. I can no longer carry out my duties with the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in War Crimes.”
The Foreign Office reportedly declined to comment on the case, saying the government was committed to upholding international law.
Smith, who previously worked on Middle East arms export licensing assessments for the government, said: “Ministers claim that the UK has one of the most ‘robust and transparent’ arms export licensing regimes in the world, but this is the opposite of the truth,” he added.
Read also: Europe Can Only Condemn Israel’s Savagery in the West Bank and Gaza
He said every day they witness clear and visible examples of war crimes and violations of International Humanitarian Law in Gaza committed by Israel.
He said more than half of the homes in Gaza and more than 80% of commercial properties have been damaged or destroyed, humanitarian aid is blocked and civilians continue to have no safe shelter. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are constantly targeted. These are war crimes.
There is no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel but somehow they continue. “I have raised this at every level of the organisation, including through official whistleblowing investigations, and have received no response other than ‘thank you, we have noted your concerns,'” the letter said.
Read also: Israel Expels Refugees in Humanitarian Zone
According to the BBC, the resignation email was sent to a large distribution list including hundreds of government officials, embassy staff and special advisers to Foreign Office ministers.
The move was praised by many on social media, including by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
“I hope more diplomats will follow Mark Smith’s courageous lead and speak out against the supporters of Israeli atrocities,” he wrote in X.
In June, the Department for Business and Trade said Britain had issued 108 arms export licences since Oct. 7, when Israel’s aggression on Gaza began. More than 300 licences were still active as of May. (I-2)
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