A British ambassador has resigned because he believes the United Kingdom “may be complicit in war crimes” committed by Israel in Palestine. Mark Smith, the second secretary of the British Embassy in Ireland, has made his resignation letter public through an online publication, criticizing British arms sales to the Israeli state.
“It is with regret that I am stepping down after a long career in the diplomatic service. However, I can no longer perform my duties knowing that the sector may be complicit in war crimes,” the former diplomat now writes.
Mark Smith makes it clear that Israeli military actions against Gaza are problematic, and that the UK is contributing to the human suffering of the Palestinian people through the arms deal it maintains with Israel.
“Every day we see costly and unquestionable examples of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law. In Gaza Perpetrated by the State of Israel”, now empowers the former diplomat. Mark Smith says the Israeli government displayed “clear genocidal intent” during the invasion, and that the army deliberately filmed “the destruction and looting of Palestinian civilian property”.
The former diplomat highlighted the large number of homes destroyed in Israeli attacks, and about 80% of commercial properties.
“There is no justification for the continued sale of arms to Israel,” Mark Smith summed up, accusing ministers of lying when they say they have “one of the most transparent and robust arms export licensing regimes”.
Since the beginning of its invasion of Gaza in October 2023, Israel has always denied violating international law, justifying attacks targeting civilian areas with concrete military objectives.
More than 40,000 Palestinians were killed, according to the latest data provided by the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than 92,000 people have been injured in the conflict over the past ten months.