Exclusive: Charity granted permission to intervene after ministers rejected calls to suspend weapon sales
Supplying arms to Israel while simultaneously providing humanitarian aid to Gaza is “intellectually and morally incoherent”, the head of Oxfam GB has said.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 37,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Israel and Hamas have both been accused of breaking international law.
Nevertheless, UK ministers have rejected calls to suspend arms exports to Israel, prompting a legal challenge, in which Oxfam was on Thursday granted permission to formally intervene.
In an interview with the Guardian, Halima Begum, who took over as Oxfam GB chief executive in April and recently returned from a work trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank, said the UK’s stance does not make sense.
“Whether you say they are components or whole weapons [being sold] is a moot point, because individual components collectively constitute these devices that are killing so many innocent people. The UK needs to stop selling these arms. The government can’t simultaneously give humanitarian aid and talk about its aspirations for peace in the region, then also ship bombs – it’s intellectually and morally incoherent.
“That the law doesn’t prevent the trade seems immaterial. If you knowingly sell weapons that are being used to kill thousands of innocent children and their parents, why would you continue?”
Despite being unable to enter Gaza because of the assault on Rafah, Begum said she was left “shell shocked” after hearing first-hand accounts of the humanitarian crisis from Palestinian colleagues evacuated from the territory.
