Judges rule against Palestinian human rights group's claim that the UK is illegally arming Israel

Key Points

• High Court judges dismissed the legal challenge by Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network against the UK government’s provision of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel.
• While the UK suspended about 30 of 350 export licenses over risks of humanitarian law breaches, it maintained an exemption for F-35 components under a multilateral defense collaboration.
• The judges ruled that decisions over defense exports and national security are the remit of the executive branch, not the courts.
• British firms supply roughly 15% of F-35 components, including laser targeting systems, into a global supply chain that indirectly equips Israel.

LONDON (AP) — A Palestinian human rights group lost its legal challenge on Monday to the British government's decision to supply Israel with parts for F-35 fighter jets and other military equipment.

Al-Haq alleged that the U.K. broke domestic and international law and was complicit in atrocities against Palestinians by allowing essential components for the warplanes to be supplied to Israel.

The government said the ruling showed it had rigorous export rules and it would continue to review its licensing agreements, a spokesperson said.

The government last year suspended about 30 of 350 existing export licenses for equipment deemed to be for use in the conflict in Gaza because of a “clear risk” the items could be used to violate international humanitarian law. Equipment included parts for helicopters and drones.

But an exemption was made for some licenses related to components of F-35 fighter jets, which are indirectly supplied to Israel through the global spare parts supply chain and have been linked to bombing the Gaza Strip.

While Al-Haq argued the U.K. shouldn’t continue to export parts through what they called a “deliberate loophole” given the government’s own assessment of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law, the government said the parts were distributed to a collaboration involving the U.S. and six other partners to produce the jets.

Components manufactured in the U.K. are sent to assembly lines in the U.S., Italy and Japan that supply partners — including Israel — with jets and spare parts, the court said.

Two High Court judges ruled that the issue was one of national security because the parts were considered vital to the defense collaboration and the U.K.'s security and international peace. They said it wasn't up to the courts to tell the government to withdraw from the group because of the possibility the parts would be supplied to Israel and used to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza.

“Under our constitution that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive, which is democratically accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts," Justices Stephen Males and Karen Steyn wrote in a 72-page judgment.

Al-Haq and the groups that supported it, including U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network, Amnesty International and Oxfam, described the ruling as a disappointing setback, but said they had already made significant gains in getting the government to suspend some arms exports to Israel and they vowed to continue pressing their case.

“Despite the outcome of today, this case has centered the voice of the Palestinian people and has rallied significant public support, and it is just the start," said Shawan Jabarin, general director of Al-Haq. “We continue on all fronts in our work to defend our collective human values and work towards achieving justice for the Palestinians.”

Compared with major arms suppliers such as the U.S. and Germany, British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel. The Campaign Against Arms Trade nonprofit group estimates that the U.K. supplies about 15% of the components in the F-35 stealth combat aircraft, including its laser targeting system.