India’s Supreme Court rules on halting arms supply to Israel

“We cannot interfere in the foreign policy of the country,” the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and two other judges said.

Britain suspends 30 arms sales licenses to Israel used in serious violations in war in Gaza

The court added that Indian companies involved in arms exports cannot block the supply of arms as they could be sued for breach of contractual obligations.

“Can we issue a ban on the export of these products to Israel under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide? Why do we restrict it? Because we do not know how it will affect foreign policy and what impact it may have,” he told Indian media. Reliance News Agency quoted the judges as saying:

“India is bound by various international laws and treaties that require it not to supply military weapons to countries that have committed war crimes because such exports may be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said the public interest litigation filed by almost all of them. revealed. A dozen people this month.

Earlier, a group of prominent Indian citizens wrote a letter to the Defense Minister asking him to stop the licensing process for exporters to send arms and ammunition to Israel.

The government has not issued any statement regarding arms supplies to Israel, but Qatari media group Al Jazeera noted in its investigation that New Delhi is supplying arms to Tel Aviv.

Last June, former Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Kamon said, “India may supply weapons to Israel as a token of gratitude for Israel’s support during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.”

Israel, which ignored a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, has faced international criticism as deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip continue from October 7, 2023.

The attack killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, injured an estimated 94,761, and left more than 10,000 missing.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, and is destroying large swaths of the area.

Israel has been indicted on charges of genocide by the International Court of Justice, which ordered a halt to military operations in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians fled before the May 6 invasion.