Dowden: UK position on arms sales to Israel ‘has not changed’

Dowden: UK position on arms sales to Israel ‘has not changed’

Israel and Hamas are expected to hold a new round of ceasefire negotiations in Cairo today, at a time when Israel is under more pressure than ever before to pause the conflict. An IDF strike on an aid convoy which killed seven aid workers, including three Britons, led to Foreign Secretary David Cameron telling Israel that British support was ‘not unconditional’. This week there have been calls for the UK to suspend arms exports to Israel. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said this morning on Sky News that the UK has ‘one of the toughest arms export systems’, based on legal advice. However, on the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg asked Dowden about reports that the government has received legal advice warning that Israel has broken international law. Dowden said the government would not publish the legal advice, but admitted they had ‘specific concerns’ about Israel’s conduct.