PNN – More than 300 employees of the British Foreign Office have signed a letter of protest addressed to the country’s Foreign Secretary, criticizing London’s continued support for the Zionist regime and warning that this approach could have legal consequences for the government.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the letter, which was signed by hundreds of British Foreign Office employees on May 17 and a copy of which was seen by the BBC, strongly criticizes the continued export of weapons to the Zionist regime and the secret trip of the Israeli Foreign Minister to London, and warns against Tel Aviv’s disregard for the rules of international law.
The signatories described the British government’s policy as contributing to the “erosion of international norms” and “diminishing humanitarian principles.”
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According to the letter, British officials continue to move in the direction of practical support for Tel Aviv, despite repeated warnings from Foreign Ministry experts; an action that, according to the authors of the letter, could have criminal consequences for the executive officials. The signatories of the letter warned about the legal status of British foreign policy decision-makers and implementers and stated that if the case is referred to international institutions, they will also be prosecuted.
The official response to this letter of protest was issued by two senior officials of the British Foreign Office, Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer. While emphasizing the existence of “internal mechanisms for expressing concerns,” these two officials made controversial statements: If your opposition to any part of government policy is deep and fundamental, the final and respectful solution is to resign from civil service.
This response, which was met with “widespread anger,” according to one signatory, is seen by many employees as a way to close the door to legal protest within the organization. One of the protesting officials told the BBC: These types of responses not only do not address concerns, but also narrow the space for criticism and transparency in the country’s diplomatic structure.
In parliament, dozens of representatives from various parties, especially the Green Party, the Scottish National Party, and a number of Labor Party representatives, have publicly criticized the government’s foreign policy towards Gaza. The resignation of dozens of senior Labour Party members on city councils and open letters from some retired diplomats are other signs of dissatisfaction within the British foreign policy establishment.
According to the text of the recent letter, the signatories specifically referred to the recent Israeli attacks in Gaza, which resulted in the martyrdom of 15 aid workers from humanitarian organizations. The letter also refers to the Zionist regime’s prevention of sending humanitarian aid into Gaza and its use of “starvation as a weapon of war,” an issue that many international organizations have considered to be a war crime.
In response to the publication of this letter, the British Foreign Office claimed: Civil service employees are tasked with implementing the policies of the government of the day professionally and impartially. From the very beginning, the current government has acted in strict compliance with international law and has suspended the export of military equipment that can be used in Gaza.
The statement further claimed that the government “will not export any bombs or ammunition that could be used in Gaza” and that direct exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel (the occupied territories) have also been halted. However, experts and human rights groups have deemed this position inadequate and have called for a complete cessation of military cooperation with the Zionist regime.
The letter of protest from British Foreign Office staff is not only an unprecedented document of the internal rift within the country’s diplomatic apparatus, but also a symbol of increasing domestic and international pressure on the London government to reconsider its positions on the crimes of the Zionist regime. Given the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the proliferation of legal cases in international circles, it seems that maintaining the current status quo will be more difficult than ever for the British government.