London High Court Rejects Legal Challenge against UK Arms Sales to “Israel”

By Staff, Agencies

The High Court in London has rejected a legal challenge against UK weapons exports to “Israel”, despite growing concerns over human rights violations in war-torn Gaza Strip.

The court refused the appeal against the UK Department for Business and Trade [DBT] on Tuesday, saying the criteria requiring the DBT to consider whether there is a risk the weapons might be used in a violation of international law must be “clear” and has to be “of a serious violation”.

The court refusal said there was a “high hurdle” to overcome to establish the government’s conclusion was “irrational,” adding that “There is no realistic prospect of that hurdle being surmounted here.”

Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and UK-based Global Legal Action Network [GLAN] applied for a judicial review of the government’s export licenses for the sale of British weapons capable of being used in “Israel’s” war on Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have come out in huge numbers to demand that the British government call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and terminate its military and political support for “Israel”.

They warned that the UK government is ignoring its own rules in the “Israeli” aggression on Gaza, saying they are seeking to overturn the court’s decision. 

The legal challenge stated that the government has granted licenses for the sale of British weapons to “Israel” under a wide range of categories in recent years.

Existing UK arms export criteria say that if there is a “clear risk” that a weapon might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law then an arms export should not be licensed.

Shawan Jabarin, general director of al-Haq, said the UK government’s decision to continue supplying “Israel” with weapons for offensive against men, women, and children in Gaza is effectively arming the occupying entity to “completely decimate” the Gaza Strip, reducing the besieged enclave’s vital civilian infrastructure to rubble.