Government must set “red lines” and suspend arms sales to Israel – Carmichael

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael has today called on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel as it begins another attack on Rafah in Gaza. 

On Monday, the Israeli military ordered tens of thousands of civilians to begin evacuating eastern parts of Rafah city. The Israeli military took operational control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt today, a key entry point for aid and the only exit for people able to flee since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October. The UN has warned that the closure of Rafah meant that the two main aid arteries for Gaza were “choked off”.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages. More than 34,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Speaking in the House, Mr Carmichael said:

“In recent months, Israeli forces in Gaza have been responsible for the killing of aid workers, medics, journalists, including British citizens amongst them. They’ve been responsible for the targeting of civilian infrastructure.

“In these circumstances, what possible basis can there been in law for continuing to supply weapons to Israel?”

Responding for the government, the Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell MP said:

“The decisions on weapons licences are not made on the floor of the House, nor are they made on the basis of emotion. They are made on basis of the rules clearly set down, they are governed by the advice that we receive from lawyers and we act in accordance with that advice.”

Reacting after the exchange, Mr Carmichael said:

“John Maynard Keynes said “when the facts change, I change my mind”. The facts on the ground in Gaza are materially different from what they were seven months ago or even one month ago – the government must change its position as well. Ministers are tying themselves in knots trying to defend their inaction – if they truly believe that supplying further weapons is moral or appropriate then at the very least they should explain their reasoning in Parliament.

“No one questions the right of Israel to defend itself but that can never be taken as a blank cheque. Unless and until the government sets out clear red lines on the supply of weapons and enforces those red lines, we are sending a message that there are no red lines for our support. As yet more misery is piled upon the people of Gaza in this latest attack on Rafah, that is not a position that can be sustained.”