UK Official Resigns Over Arms Sales to Israel

A British Foreign Office official, Mark Smith, has made headlines recently by resigning in protest over arms sales to Israel. Based at the British Embassy in Dublin, Smith expressed strong concerns regarding the UK government’s involvement, stating it may be complicit in war crimes.

In a message sent to colleagues, Smith highlighted that he had raised alarms at every level within the Foreign Office, using the official whistleblowing system to voice his worries. Unfortunately, he received only basic acknowledgments in response.

In his resignation email, which reached numerous government officials and embassy staff, Smith pointed out that, during his time working on arms export licensing, he saw clear evidence of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.

He noted alarming behavior from Israeli officials and soldiers, including open genocidal intent, attacks on humanitarian aid efforts, and destruction of civilian properties. According to Smith, this ongoing situation makes any justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel utterly untenable.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) maintained that they would not export items if they could potentially be used to violate international humanitarian law. However, they did not comment on Smith’s individual case.

Smith’s email suggested that the UK government’s claims about their robust arms export licensing regime are misleading. He stressed that as an officer tasked with identifying illegal actions, being ignored was deeply troubling.

Before stepping down, Smith served as a subject matter expert within the arms sales policy domain at the FCDO, even leading the legal assessment regarding arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa. He firmly believes that arms should only be sold to nations with procedures in place to minimize civilian harm.

Since the conflict escalated with Israel’s actions in Gaza, Smith has grown increasingly uneasy about the legitimacy of UK arms exports. He even reached out to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, urging an urgent review of the UK’s stance on the situation in Gaza.

Despite the controversy, Smith’s resignation is considered quite rare among British officials, highlighting the powerful concerns within the government over the situation in Gaza and the arms trade with Israel.