David Cameron, the former foreign secretary, was advised by Foreign Office officials that there was clear evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza, for which the UK risked being complicit, according to a former Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office adviser. The source, who contributed to drafting the advice, said the warnings were sent to the government from at least February onwards.
The Labour government recently banned 30 arms export licences to Israel after a memorandum cited a clear risk they might be used in serious breaches of international humanitarian law. The former adviser said the published memorandum used less strident language than earlier drafts, and questioned how many lives might have been saved if the licences had been stopped earlier.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision as 'shameful', comparing Israel's fight against Hamas to Britain's stand against the Nazis. He said the ban would not change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas, which he described as a 'genocidal terrorist organization'.
Israeli sources admit relations with the UK are strained but do not predict practical reprisals. The ban largely excludes UK components for the F-35 fighter jet programme, a move seen as a loophole by pro-Palestinian groups but intended to minimise anger in Washington.
