The High Court in London has dismissed a legal challenge against UK weapons exports to the Zionist entity, despite mounting concerns about human rights violations in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The court rejected the appeal against the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on Tuesday, stating that the criteria for considering whether there is a risk of weapons being used in a violation of international law must be “clear” and “of a serious violation.”
The court also said there was a “high hurdle” to prove the government’s conclusion was “irrational,” adding that “There is no realistic prospect of that hurdle being surmounted here.”
The legal challenge was brought by Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), who sought a judicial review of the government’s export licenses for the sale of British weapons capable of being used in Israel’s actions in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian protesters have demanded that the British government call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza and end its military and political support for Israel. They argue that the UK government is ignoring its own rules regarding arms exports to Israel.
Existing UK arms export criteria state that if there is a “clear risk” that a weapon might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law (IHL), then an arms export should not be licensed. Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, criticized the UK government’s decision to continue supplying Israel with weapons, saying it effectively arms the occupying regime to “completely decimate” the Gaza Strip.
GLAN also criticized the high court’s decision, stating that it is out of step with the growing international consensus that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. British lawmakers have called on London to halt arms exports to Israel over its alleged war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Last week, a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands government to stop supplying F35 fighter jet parts to Israel within seven days, citing violations of international and humanitarian law. Italy and Spain also halted all arms exports to Israel when the attacks in Gaza began.
The Israeli occupation launched its war on Gaza on October 7 in response to a retaliatory attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, against the occupying entity over its intensified violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli aggression has resulted in the deaths of more than 29,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured about 70,000 others in Gaza. The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), between 2015 and 2022, the UK licensed more than half a billion dollars worth of weapons to Israel.
Source: Websites (Translated and Edited by Al-Manar English Website)
