Israeli military vehicles are operating inside the Gaza Strip, near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025. (Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters.)
Over 800 lawyers, academics, and former senior judges, including ex-Supreme Court judges, urged in a letter the UK Prime Minister to impose sanctions on Israel. They also called for reconsidering Israel’s UN membership over its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
According to the British judges and lawyers who signed this open letter, the UK's inaction in the face of continuous violations of international law by the Israeli state would put the international judicial system in "peril." The UK must impose sanctions as quickly as possible to meet its "fundamental international legal obligations," they write in the letter.
This letter, addressed to Starmer, was sent following the joint statement by the British Prime Minister and the French and Canadian leaders on May 19. The leaders notably said they would not "stand idly by" in the face of the Israeli government's "outrageous" actions in Gaza, warning they were ready to take "concrete measures" against the Israeli state.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy had already announced the suspension of the negotiations for a new trade agreement with Israel following the statement by ultra-nationalist Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich asserting that Gaza would be "completely destroyed."
Call to suspend existing trade links
The signatories of the letter, including former Supreme Court judges Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, are calling on their government to strengthen these measures to include already existing trade links and impose new sanctions. They urge Starmer to act without delay. "Urgent and decisive action is necessary to prevent the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza," they warn.
The lawyers, academics, and other signatories of the letter denounce war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories. "A genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza, or at the very least, there is a serious risk of genocide," they assert. The signatories also cite the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, in which the ICJ finds that Israel violates international law throughout the occupied Palestinian territory by denying the Palestinian people their right to self-determination and by illegally annexing territories acquired by force.
"All states, including the UK, are legally required to take all reasonable measures within their power to prevent and punish genocide, ensure respect for international humanitarian law, and end violations of [the right to self-determination]," they argue, concerned that the international community's failure to uphold international law threatens the international legal system as a whole. According to them, Starmer's government "must act now, before it is too late."
In April 2024, members of the British legal community had signed an open letter noting a violation of international law by the UK as it continued to arm Israel despite the ICJ's provisional order of January 26, 2024, stating that there was already a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza.
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