Politicians speak out after 3 Britons, 4 other aid workers killed in airstrike in Gaza
\n LONDON
\nSeveral Conservative politicians have called on the British government to stop exporting arms to Israel after seven aid workers, including three Britons, were killed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
\nDavid Jones, the Conservative MP for Clwyd West, told the Guardian: \u201cThe government should urgently reassess its supply of arms and deliver a stern warning to Israel about its conduct.
\n\u201cIsrael has every right to defend itself and every right to act proportionately. That doesn\u2019t include people who are trying to do good.
\n\u201cGiven that we\u2019ve seen three British citizens \u2014 all of them ex-forces \u2014 killed in what is, at best, a negligent manner I think that we really need to reassess our supply of weaponry there.
\n\u201cI thought that (Benjamin) Netanyahu\u2019s response \u2014 \u2018these things happen in war\u2019 \u2014 was completely inadequate, frankly, shamefully inadequate.\u201d
\nFlick Drummond, the Conservative MP for Meon Valley, said UK arms sales to Israel should be stopped \u201cfor the foreseeable future.\u201d
\n\u201cThis has been concerning me for some time,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat worries me is the prospect of UK arms being used in Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, which I believe have broken international law.\u201d
\nHugo Swire, a former Foreign Office minister in David Cameron\u2019s government, said: \u201cWhat I do not support is the selling of arms which can be, and now look as if they are being, used offensively in Gaza.\u201d
\nThe calls to halt arms sales were supported by crossbench peer Peter Ricketts, who was a national security adviser to the government during Cameron\u2019s leadership.
\nHe told BBC Radio 4\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d program: \u201cI think there\u2019s abundant evidence now that Israel hasn\u2019t been taking enough care to fulfill its obligations on the safety of civilians.
\n\u201cAnd a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law. That\u2019s a condition of the arms export license. So, honestly, I think the time has come to send that signal.
\n\u201cIt won\u2019t change the course of the war. It would be a powerful political message. And it might just stimulate debate in the US as well, which would be the real game changer.\u201d
\nThe UK\u2019s Liberal Democrats also called for the suspension of arms exports to Israel on Wednesday.
\nThe aid workers \u2014 who also included a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, a Pole and an Australian \u2014 were working for international charity World Central Kitchen to deliver food aid to Gaza when they were killed.
\nHaaretz, an Israeli newspaper that reported on the airstrike on Tuesday citing defense sources, said the drone fired three missiles at the convoy of three armored cars \u2014 all of which were clearly marked with the WCK logo on their roofs and sides \u2014 because they were suspected of transporting an armed militant.
\nThe vehicles were hit while returning along a route preapproved and coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces, the report said.
\nUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the Israeli airstrike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Politicians speak out after 3 Britons, 4 other aid workers killed in airstrike in Gaza LONDON Several Conservative politicians have called on the British government to stop exporting arms to Israel after seven aid workers, including three Britons, were killed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. David Jones, the Conservative MP for Clwyd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-398407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n