02.09.24: This afternoon, we learnt that the Government has suspended 30 export licenses for arms sales to Israel. This news comes immediately after GLAN and Al-Haq filed a letter (sent 30 August 2024 - see last weeks' press release below) threatening the Government with new proceedings, should they fail to engage the suspension mechanism provided for in the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The move by the legal groups follows recent revelations in the Guardian and the Telegraph indicating that the Attorney General (AG) was seeking to distinguish between ‘offensive’ and ‘defensive’ weapons used by Israel. The implication is that the government has taken a view that at least some British weapons (i.e. those deemed ‘offensive’) risk being used to commit war crimes. Long-standing UK policy expressly provides that, where a clear assessment as to legality cannot be made, the government can suspend arms licences while it makes further inquiries. We argued that the government must engage that suspension mechanism immediately. 

GLAN and Al-Haq wrote to the government, informing it our intent to issue fresh proceedings seeking an order from the court requiring the exercise of the suspension mechanism, by way of urgent interim relief (similar to an injunction). The Government was required to respond to our letter by Tuesday 3 September at 4pm. On Tuesday 3 September, at 10:30am, a hearing in Al-Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade is due to take place, during which we are to notify the court our request for a mandatory order for interim relief, in the face of the government’s inaction. GLAN and Al-Haq will now consider whether this ban is extensive enough to meet the gravity of the situation and assess whether further litigation remains necessary. Tomorrow’s hearing will likely dictate the future of the case.   

GLAN Senior Lawyer, Dearbhla Minogue said: "This momentous decision vindicates everything Palestinians have been saying for months. The UK Government was backed into a corner. Our most recent letter showed that a suspension was the only right and legal thing to do. This is a truly historic victory for Al-Haq and for Palestinians. The exhaustive evidence we filed in mid-August showed that there was only one legally sound decision available to the government - that it is against the law to supply Israel with weapons for use against Palestinians in Gaza." 

GLAN Lawyer, Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe said: “The government knew that they could not defend the failure to suspend all weapons licences and that they would face urgent applications for an injunction as soon as this week. We are so proud to have worked with Al Haq to finally shift the dial away from the UK's complicity in this unfolding genocide. Now that the Government has taken this important step, it must do much, much more, and abide by its obligations under international law to do everything in its power to prevent the commission of genocide.”