BRITAIN must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations under international law, hundreds of lawyers, academics and retired senior judges have said in a letter to the Prime Minister

The letter urges Sir Keir Starmer to take immediate action following last week's joint statement with France and Canada, saying they were prepared to take “concrete actions” against Israel, with signatories warning today that “urgent and decisive action is required to avert the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza.”

The more than 800 signatories say that war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law are being committed in Palestine.

“All states, including Britain, are legally obliged to take all reasonable steps within their power to prevent and punish genocide, to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to bring to an end violations of [the right to self-determination],” the letter reads.

“Britain’s actions to date have failed to meet those standards.

“The international community’s failure to uphold international law in relation to the occupied Palestinian territory contributes to a deteriorating international climate of lawlessness and impunity and imperils the international legal system itself. 

“Your government must act now, before it is too late.”

The letter also calls on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to immediately sanction Israeli ministers or senior officials in the Israel Defence Forces for inciting genocide or supporting and sponsoring illegal settlements.

Last week, the Tottenham MP announced the suspension of negotiations over a new free trade deal with Israel. 

So far, financial sanctions and travel bans have been limited to individual settlers, settler outposts and settler organisations, but the letter says that Mr Lammy must go further and faster by reviewing existing trade ties, suspending the 2030 roadmap for closer Britain-Israel partnership and imposing trade sanctions.

Britain must also secure an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the resumption of aid and the lifting of Israel's ban on the United Nations refugee group, UNRWA, to meet its legal obligations, the letter urges. 

And the government should confirm that it would execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, if either of them travels to Britain.