LONDON – Starting Tuesday, the U.K. government will appear in a High Court hearing to justify its decision to continue providing parts for F-35 fighter jets, which Israel might employ in Gaza.
This legal case has been initiated by human rights organizations, claiming that by supplying critical components for these warplanes to Israel, the government is violating both national and international laws and is indirectly involved in the violations against Palestinians.
In September, the government announced the suspension of approximately 30 out of 350 existing export licenses for equipment thought to be involved in the Gaza conflict, due to a “clear risk” of these items being used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.” These items included parts intended for helicopters and drones.
But an exemption was made for some licenses related to components of F-35 fighter jets, which have been linked to Israel’s bombardment campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Rights groups argue that the United Kingdom shouldn’t continue the export of the parts through what they call a “deliberate loophole” given the government’s own assessment of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network, which brought the legal challenge, say the components are indirectly supplied to Israel through the global spare parts supply chain.
U.K. officials have argued that stopping the export of F-35 fighter jet components would negatively impact international peace and security.
Compared to 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.
“British-made F-35s are dropping multi-ton bombs on the people of Gaza, which the U.N. secretary-general has described as a ‘killing field,’” said Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer for the Global Legal Action Network.
“The U.K. government has expressly departed from its own domestic law in order to keep arming Israel. This decision is of continuing and catastrophic effect,” she added.
The hearing is expected to last four days and a decision is expected at a later date.
Israel resumed its bombardment in Gaza in March, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. More than 52,800 people, more than half of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The ministry’s count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed thousands of militants, without giving evidence.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
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