Muslim lawmaker urges British premier to ‘stop arming war crimes’

LONDON (AA) – British lawmaker Zarah Sultana accused the government on Tuesday of being “deeply complicit” in Israel’s “genocidal assault” in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop arming war crimes.”

In a letter to Sunak, Sultana mentioned the genocide case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which she said the world “heard in painstaking detail the horrifying facts of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.”

Recalling the UK’s arms sales to Israel, she accused the government of being “deeply complicit” in Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip.

“Not only has it refused to support an immediate cease-fire at the UN Security Council, but it has also licensed arms sales to Israel worth more than £474 million ($598 million) since 2015, including parts for F-35 fighter jets, planes that are currently unleashing hell on Gaza,” she said.

Sultana said that is why she introduced the Arms Trade (Inquiry and Suspension) Bill to parliament last month “to stop arming Israel’s war crimes.”

“The Bill would suspend arms sales to any country where there is a risk that they will be used in violation of international law — and there is no doubt this includes Israel,” she said.

She added that the bill would also launch an inquiry into British arms sales, assessing the clearly inadequate licensing regime and “ensuring that we never again sell weapons for war crimes.”

Reminding that the bill will come before the House of Commons on Friday, she urged Sunak “to entrust your MPs not to block the Bill, allowing it to continue its journey to becoming law.”

At least 24,285 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 61,154 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.