NGO loses bid to block UK export of military equipment to Israel

LONDON (AFP) — The High Court in London rejected a legal challenge on Monday brought by a Palestinian rights group seeking to block the U.K. from supplying components for Israeli F-35 fighter jets.

Israel has used the jets to devastating effect in its bombardment of Gaza.

Both sides have been accused of atrocities during a conflict that has killed tens of thousands — the vast majority of them Palestinian civilians, according to figures the United Nations deems reliable.

The U.K. government suspended some export licenses for military equipment after concluding there was a risk Israel could be breaching international humanitarian law but made an exemption for some parts for Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets.

Rights group Al-Haq had asked the High Court for a judicial review, saying the “carve out” was unlawful and alleging the government had misunderstood the applicable rules of international law.

It was supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others in its case.

Judge Stephen Males and Judge Karen Steyn rejected all of the grounds for challenging the government’s decision, saying the case was really asking if the court could order the U.K. to “withdraw from a specific multilateral defense collaboration.”

“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,” said the judges, denying permission for a judicial review.

Shawan Jabarin, general director of Al-Haq, said in a statement to AFP his organization would “continue to persevere in the U.K. and beyond until governments are held accountable.”

A government spokesperson said the ruling showed that the U.K. was operating “one of the most robust export control regimes in the world.”

‘Shocking increase’

The U.K. contributes components to an international defense program that produces and maintains the F-35s for Israel and several other countries.

Defense Secretary John Healey had argued a suspension would impact the “whole F-35 program” and have a “profound impact on international peace and security.”

In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licenses following a review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.

But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts, which include refueling probes, laser targeting systems, tires and ejector seats, according to Oxfam.

U.K.-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade has said that licensing figures showed the government had made a “shocking increase in military exports to Israel” in the months after the September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions.

It said the figures showed the U.K. approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licenses from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined.

Most of the licenses were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government.

Israel launched war on Gaza after an attack by militants from Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 56,500 people in Gaza, an occupied Palestinian territory, most of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

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By Agence France-Presse