More than 800 legal experts in the United Kingdom, including judges, barristers, and academics, have issued a public demand for the British government to enact punitive measures against Israel in response to the ongoing war in Gaza. The group asserts that either genocide is actively occurring or there is a “serious risk” it may take place.
Among the signatories are two former justices from the UK Supreme Court and three ex-presidents of the Court of Appeal. They referenced inflammatory comments made by top Israeli officials who spoke openly about razing Gaza and removing its civilian population.
The legal community urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take decisive action, proposing financial restrictions targeting Israeli leaders and IDF officers allegedly tied to violations of international law, alongside broader trade sanctions against the Israeli government.
In contrast, Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch expressed a starkly different view on Sunday, describing Israel’s fight against Hamas as part of a broader defense of Western interests.
“Who funds Hamas?” Badenoch asked during a Sky News interview. “Iran… an enemy of this country. Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the UK, just like Ukraine is on behalf of Western Europe against Russia. We have to get serious.”
“Israel is fighting a war,” she continued. “It is not for me to police exactly how they are doing that,” she said. “It is not a genocide, as people are saying.”
Pressed on whether she ever criticized Israeli conduct, Badenoch responded: “That’s not true. I have criticized things before, but right now, there are 58 hostages who have not been returned home.”
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, more than 53,000 individuals have either died or are presumed dead since the outbreak of violence. However, these numbers remain unverified and do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel has claimed that it has eliminated approximately 20,000 fighters in combat and neutralized another 1,600 terrorists during the October 7 incursion.
On March 2, Israel temporarily halted all aid deliveries to Gaza, triggering widespread condemnation and raising fears of worsening food insecurity. Last week, humanitarian shipments resumed. In the same week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy halted ongoing free trade talks with Israel, initiated a review of the bilateral 2030 cooperation framework, and sanctioned several settler groups and individuals.
Israel has rejected all genocide accusations, saying that civilian casualties stem from Hamas embedding its fighters and infrastructure among non-combatants. Officials argue they have monitored the humanitarian situation to avoid triggering widespread starvation.
Nevertheless, the letter sent to Starmer insists that “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide occurring.” It further argues that the flow of humanitarian assistance is “gravely insufficient to address the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.”
The authors cited figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs claiming that women and children make up 70% of fatalities. However, critics have challenged the reliability of these statistics, noting that they may misrepresent the ratio of civilian to militant casualties in the IDF’s operations.
The letter also referenced statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for the “total” destruction of Gaza and the displacement of the enclave’s entire population.
According to the legal professionals, Israel’s current military campaign aims to “forcibly and permanently displace the population of Gaza to small areas of the Gaza Strip, and coerce their emigration to other countries,” which they labeled as a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
They went on to accuse Israel of a range of international offenses, including “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law” in both Gaza and the West Bank. They also pointed to a 2023 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice deeming Israel’s control of the West Bank illegal.
Given the seriousness of the accusations, the group called on Starmer to push for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza” and facilitate a major increase in aid deliveries.
They also pressed the UK to implement “financial and immigration sanctions” against members of the Israeli cabinet and others “reasonably suspected of involvement in unlawful conduct,” and to reassess trade arrangements with Israel, including imposing trade penalties.
Jonathan Turner, head of UK Lawyers for Israel, responded critically to the letter. He claimed that the same group had previously misrepresented both facts and legal interpretations in similar allegations. Turner further argued that “there has been no famine or mass starvation in the Gaza Strip,” stating that during the truce period between January and March, “sufficient quantities of food supplies were transferred into the Gaza Strip to last for several months.”

{Matzav.com Israel}