A British diplomat based in Ireland has resigned over arms sales to Israel, with his email circulated online saying the UK's foreign office "may be complicit in war crimes", AFP reported on Monday.
Images of the resignation email of the diplomat, Mark Smith, were posted online. Smith, who was based in the British embassy in Dublin, wrote there was "no justification for the UK's continued arms sales to Israel".
Smith, who describes himself as an expert in arms sales policy, was a second secretary dealing with "counter terror", a relatively junior position in the foreign office (FCDO).
Issuing a follow-up statement, Smith said he had "written to the foreign secretary informing him of my resignation and urging him to urgently review the UK approach to the situation in Gaza", according to the BBC.
"Each day we witness clear and unquestionable examples of war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza perpetrated by the State of Israel," Smith wrote in the resignation email.
He said concerns regarding the legality of arms sales that he raised "at every level" of the FCDO were "disregarded", and accused the UK government of failing to have a "robust and transparent" arms exports licensing regime.
An FCDO spokesperson told AFP that while the office did not comment on individual cases, the "government is committed to upholding international law".
"We have made clear that we will not export items if they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," the spokesperson added.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has previously indicated that there would be no "blanket ban" on arms sales to Israel, but that he would "consider the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza".
Before the recent British election, Fabian Hamilton, a candidate with the Labour Party, broke ranks by claiming that arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia will stop if the party takes power.
Lammy’s predecessor, David Cameron, ruled out banning arms sales to Israel, saying that doing so would not be a solution and would only make Hamas stronger.