Britain’s High Court has ruled that the government’s decision to allow the export of Lockheed Martin F-35 jet parts to Israel is lawful despite accepting that they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law.In a 72-page ruling on Monday, Judges Stephen Males and Karen Steyn said the case was about a “much more focused issue” than just the jet parts.
“That issue is whether it is open to the court to rule that the UK must withdraw from a specific multilateral defence collaboration … because of the prospect that some UK-manufactured components will or may ultimately be supplied to Israel, and may be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law in the conflict in Gaza,” the ruling said.
“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,” it added.
Currently, the United Kingdom contributes components for F-35s to an international defence programme that produces the bombers.
But Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq, based in the occupied West Bank, took legal action in January against the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) ov …
