Britain ‘morally inconsistent’ in supplying weapons to Israel and aid to Gaza: Oxfam boss
LONDON: Providing weapons to Israel while offering humanitarian aid to Gaza is “intellectually and morally incoherent,” the head of Oxfam GB told The Guardian.
The comments came after Oxfam agreed to formally intervene in a legal case opposing Britain’s arms sales to Israel.
The judicial review is being brought by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 37,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza.
The latest government figures show the UK issued 108 arms export permits to Israel between the October 7 attacks and May 31, without refusing or revoking any during that period.
Halima Begum, chief executive of Oxfam GB, who recently returned from Israel and the occupied West Bank, criticized the UK’s position.
She told The Guardian: “Whether you say these are components or all weapons (sold) is a moot point, because the individual components together constitute the devices that kill so many innocent people.
“The UK must stop selling these weapons. The government cannot simultaneously provide humanitarian aid and talk about its peace aspirations in the region and then drop bombs – this is intellectually and morally inconsistent.
“The fact that the law does not prohibit trade seems irrelevant. If you are knowingly selling weapons that are being used to kill thousands of innocent children and their parents, why would you continue to do so?”
Although Begum was unable to enter Gaza due to the Israeli attack on Rafah, she stated that she was “in shock” after hearing first-hand accounts of the humanitarian crisis from Palestinian colleagues evacuated from the enclave.
She highlighted historical precedents in which Britain and the US refused to arm Israel, noting decisions made in 1982 and 2002.
Begum said: “Margaret Thatcher stopped arms exports to Israel during the Lebanon war. Ronald Reagan suspended shipments of cluster munitions in July 1982 and was reportedly so shocked by the images of dismembered Palestinian children in the August 12 bombing that he warned Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that “our entire future relationship will be at stake if this continues.” .
“Israel has ordered a complete ceasefire before the end of the day. “It would therefore not be the first time a British or American government has drawn a moral line.”
She added: “Children in Gaza are being bombed, suffering from malnutrition and facing potential starvation, and the UK still cannot stop the Israeli military. This belies the belief that we will support this action; Our humanity seems to be disappearing.”
Begum also noted that the Global South was largely in agreement on the need to take action on Gaza and that it seemed “only Western leaders couldn’t see what was morally right.”
She added: “If you have a friend and their behavior is terrible, you can still say, ‘Look, as friends you shouldn’t be doing this.’ This doesn’t mean you can’t offer support to a friend.
“I have the impression that in this whole construction around Israel’s right to self-defense, every country has the right to defend itself, but not at the price of tearing humanitarian law to shreds, without any reference to human rights on the ground.”
The UK government declined to comment.