British Foreign Office official resigns over Israel arms sales, war crimes in Gaza

A British Foreign Office official who worked on counter terrorism has resigned in protest at arms sales to Israel, saying the UK government “may be complicit in war crimes”.

Mark Smith   wrote to colleagues on Friday, saying he had raised concerns “at every level” in the Foreign Office, including through an official whistle blowing mechanism.

Mr Smith, who was based at the British Embassy in Dublin, added he had received nothing more than basic acknowledgments.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) declined to comment on an individual case but said the government was committed to upholding international law.

The resignation email was sent to a wide set of distribution lists including hundreds of government officials, embassy staff and special advisors to Foreign Office ministers.

Smith said he had previously worked in Middle East arms export licensing assessment for the government and “each day” colleagues were witnessing “clear and unquestionable examples” of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.

“Senior members of the Israeli government and military have expressed open genocidal intent, Israeli soldiers take videos deliberately burning, destroying and looting civilian property,” he wrote.

“Whole streets and universities have been demolished, humanitarian aid is being blocked and civilians are regularly left with no safe quarter to flee to. Red Crescent ambulances have been attacked, schools and hospitals are regularly targeted. These are War Crimes.”

He stressed there was “no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel”.

READ: Top lawyer urges UK to halt arms sales to Israel following ICJ ruling

A source close to Mr Smith said his email was limited to internal government addressees and he did not resign publicly.

Since the story has emerged in public, Mr Smith has issued a statement calling on the government to “listen to the concerns” of civil servants, adding that he was previously the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

He said: “It was my job to gather all relevant information regarding civilian casualties, international law compliance as well as assess the commitment and capabilities of the countries in question.”

“To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that.”

“I have written to the Foreign Secretary informing him of my resignation and urging him to urgently review the UK approach to the situation in Gaza. I sincerely hope that he will listen to the concerns of Civil Servants on this issue and make the necessary changes.”

Since 2008, the UK has granted licenses for weapons exports to Israel worth £574m ($727m) in total, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

The UK government has recently played down the scale of the supply, calling it “relatively small” at £42m ($53m) in 2022.

Israel has repeatedly denied breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Responding to previous cases of dissent by Western officials over policy and arms supply, Israel’s government has said it is acting to defeat Hamas as “a genocidal terrorist organisation which commits war crimes as well as crimes against humanity”.

In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister, as well as for leaders of Hamas, for war crimes, but these have yet to be issued.

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