British diplomat Mark Smith has resigned from his role in the UK embassy in Dublin over concerns about the UK’s continued arms exports to Israel during the war in Gaza. Smith expressed his worries that the arms supplied by the UK may be contributing to war crimes and international law violations in Gaza. Despite raising the issue internally, Smith received only standard responses and felt his concerns were disregarded.
Smith listed potential war crimes carried out by Israel with UK-supplied arms, such as the destruction of homes and blocking humanitarian aid deliveries. The UK government has faced pressure from activists and lawmakers to halt weapons exports to Israel, with polls showing public support for an end to arms sales. However, the UK government has stated that its policy towards Israel remains unchanged.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has stated it has processes in place for staff to raise concerns, but did not comment on individual cases. Smith called on fellow FCDO officers to raise the issue of arms exports to Israel and expressed sadness at resigning from his diplomatic service career. As the conflict continues in Gaza, the debate over UK arms exports to Israel rages on.