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The US/UK commitment to a rules-based international order is, of course, contingent on them being permitted to make the rules. And to amend those rules unilaterally.

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Yes, which is why this will be quite a challenge for them!

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Thanks, Leah,

This is certainly a very interesting international situation now after this ICJ rulling.

The US, UK and Germany have been cought in a trap of their own making and now have the choice of backing off and allowing Israel to take the concequences, or supporting Israel and getting into an even more difficult international position.

Their difficulty is a good thing for a move towards a more democratic and cooperative international world order, which is very much to the benifit of small countries like Scotland.

I watch with interest to see how Sunak responds, he has made a mess of it so far. so the signs are he will carry on headfirst into the trap which has been laid for them.

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Yes, I agree with you. The sigs are that the US/UK and EU will double down on their support for Israel, increasing their isolation from the rest of the world. It will be interesting to see if the UK continues its arms shipments to Israel.

I read this today: The ICJ ruling means the UK must cease granting arms export licences for weapons to Israel pending the court’s final determination. Under Rule 2c, UK arms export licences must not be granted if there is risk of a violation of international humanitarian law.

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