LONDON: The UK’s Foreign Office is under growing pressure after it emerged it failed to publish a 2024 internal assessment that reportedly found no serious risk of genocide in Gaza, and refused to say whether a new assessment has since been carried out.
Amnesty International filed a freedom of information request in June to obtain a copy the document and ask whether any reassessment has taken place amid the escalating violence in the territory.
After receiving no response within the specified time frame for such requests, Amnesty lodged a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, The Guardian reported on Friday.
The government has come under fire for what critics describe as a contradictory stance, and calls for transparency are mounting. While ministers have insisted that only international courts can determine whether or not genocide is taking place, they told a domestic court, during a recent case brought by human rights group Al-Haq, that officials had reviewed the issue and found “Israel’s actions and statements did not create such a risk.”
Extracts from the unpublished 2024 assessment were disclosed in court. One part stated: “No evidence has been seen that Israel is deliberately targeting civilian women or children. There is also evidence of Israel making efforts to limit incidental harm to civilians.”
