Quds News Network

London (Quds News Network)- A senior British Foreign Office official, Mark Smith, has resigned in protest against the UK government's arms sales to Israel, stating that these actions may make the UK complicit in war crimes. According to the Middle East Eye, a British government official familiar with developments in the Foreign Office stated that a senior official in the department sent an email to staff after Smith’s resignation, saying their concerns were heard and a listening session would be held soon. Smith, who was serving as Second Secretary for Counter Terrorism at the British Embassy in Dublin, sent the resignation email to hundreds of government officials, embassy staff, and special advisors on Friday. The letter, first published by journalist Hind Hassan on X, has since sparked widespread attention online. Quds News Network reached out to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for further comment on the resignation but has not yet received a response. According to a report by the BBC, Smith, who has a background in Middle East arms export licensing, expressed grave concerns over Israel’s actions in Gaza, highlighting “clear and unquestionable examples” of war crimes. He cited numerous incidents, including the destruction of civilian property, targeting of humanitarian aid, and attacks on schools and hospitals, as evidence of these violations. Despite raising these concerns through official channels, including a whistleblowing mechanism, Smith received only basic acknowledgments. “There is no justification for the UK’s continued arms sales to Israel,” Smith wrote. He criticized the UK government for failing to uphold international law, despite claims of having one of the most robust arms export licensing regimes in the world. His resignation is a rare instance of principled dissent within the British government over its policies regarding Israel. An FCDO spokesperson told the BBC that Foreign Secretary David Lammy initiated a review process to assess Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law on his first day in office. However, the results of this review have yet to be made public. The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has reported that since 2008, the UK has granted licenses for weapons exports to Israel worth £574 million. Despite government attempts to downplay the scale of these exports, the ongoing conflict in Gaza has intensified scrutiny of the UK's complicity in arming Israel.

British Foreign Office official resigns over UK complicity in Gaza genocide

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