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

Smith wrote to his colleagues, highlighting the ongoing killings in Gaza by Israel, while the UK continues to sell arms despite these actions.


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

Read more: Pakistan denounces Israeli strike on Al-Tabeen school as war crime

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.

According to BBC, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) declined to comment.

In recent news, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv on a Middle East tour aimed at intensifying diplomatic pressure to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza this week to end the bloodshed there.


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