by Frances Mao and Natasha Preskey at BBC
Hundreds of lawyers have called on the UK government to use “all available means” to stop the fighting in Gaza, including reviewing trade ties with Israel and imposing sanctions and travel bans on Israeli ministers.
Some 828 UK-based or qualified legal experts, among them former Supreme Court justices, signed a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Monday.
They warned “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza” from Israel’s blockade of food and aid and its new military offensive, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians there in the past fortnight.
Israel has strongly denied genocide allegations, claims which are also being examined by the International Court of Justice.
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The group of legal experts includes former Supreme Court Justices Lord Wilson and Lord Sumption, former chair of the Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales Andrew Hall KC, and several professors from Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Their letter comes amid a wave of increased criticism from Israel’s Western allies,…