British court says the sale of weapons to Israel is lawful

As Israel continues to desecrate Gaza, the British High Court has ruled it lawful to arm the forces behind that destruction, a move that activists say reflects Israel’s impunity and a failure of human rights.

After 20 months of legal battle, efforts to ban all UK arms sales to Israel reached an anti-climactic end on June 30th, The New Arab plus agencies reported. The case, brought to court by a coalition of NGOs, was deemed “accountable to parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not the courts.”

Central to the proceedings was the role of the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft, one of the most advanced stealth fighters in the world. When the Labour government assumed control in 2024, 30 out of 350 arms export licenses were withdrawn, but these marginal gains did not affect the Kingdom’s role in the supply of F-35 aircraft parts to Israeli forces.

Since the onset of the war in Gaza on October 7th 2023, Israel has used the jet to devastating effect in its indiscriminate bombardment of the besieged enclave.

The international community’s scrutiny over Israel has done little to curtail the UK’s export of F-35 parts to Israel, including refueling probes, laser targeting systems, tyres, and ejector seats, according to Oxfam.

The court accepted the government’s argument that a “positive contribution to wider peace and security had to be balanced against a clear risk of the arms being used to commit serious violations of Human Rights.”

Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK, said: “We are disappointed by today’s ruling, but the court has been clear that while it does not have the authority to make a judgment on UK exports of F-35 arms parts, this does not absolve the executive and Parliament from their responsibilities to act.”

Milena Veselinovic, a reporter for Al Jazeera, explained the court’s sentiments: “Britain makes about 15 percent of each F-35 jet; however, it doesn’t make those parts specifically for Israel,” she says, reporting from London.

“So, what the UK was arguing is that if they stop those parts from being exported, that could have a knock-on effect on the entire international programme; it would impact the supply chain.”

For this reason, the ruling brings relief to Westminster. The F-35 programme is a cornerstone of the UK’s defence industry, with British manufacturers reaping significant economic benefits.

Firms like BAE Systems have secured contracts worth billions, underpinning both jobs and technological expertise. Ministers have long worried that cutting exports of F-35 components would risk unravelling the programme entirely, which would in turn undermine NATO’s broader security framework.

Still, NGOs involved in the case have pushed back, arguing that by building the parts for the global pool, the UK was in breach of international law, including the Geneva Convention. By siding with the government, the court has facilitated “international crimes against Palestinians through its arms exports, civil society and human rights,” said Shawan Jabarin, the director-general of Al-Haq, according to The Standard.

Recently, the sheer scope of Israel’s genocide has become undeniable even among those who once strongly espoused the country’s right to defend itself after the fateful Hamas attacks that escalated the conflict.

In May, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, was calling the war in Gaza unjustifiable on television, and the prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, was calling Israel a “genocidal state” in the Spanish Parliament. The leaders of France, Canada, and Britain also jointly released a statement calling the suffering of Gazans “intolerable,” and the amount of humanitarian and food aid entering Gaza “inadequate” and “unacceptable.”

Even the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has repeatedly condemned his country’s actions. Recently, he wrote in Haaretz: “What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians…It’s the result of government policy — knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.”

As the crisis continues to spiral, Jabarin maintains that civil society will “continue to persevere until governments are held accountable, Israel’s impunity is challenged, and justice for the Palestinian people is realised.”

The New Arab plus agencies/ UK Parliament/ Maghrebi.org/ Al Jazeera/ The Standard/ The Conversation/ Middle East Eye/ GOV.UK