The UK has been forced to review exports of F-35 warplane components after admitting Israel “not committed to complying” with international law.

In response to our pre-action letter sent last week, the UK government has said it is reviewing its decision to allow the export of components for the F-35 warplane to a global pool which serves Israel and other direct arms export licences.

On November 25th, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Al-Haq wrote to the UK government informing them of their intention to file for ‘interim relief’, an emergency injunction, with the UK High Court over their failure to revoke all arms export licences to Israel or to review their recent decision to exempt the F-35 programme from an earlier arms suspension.

This move followed the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant on the basis there are reasonable grounds to believe that they are criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza". In a High Court hearing before the warrants were issued the UK government was forced to admit that “Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law” by its own legal assessment.

In September, the government suspended around 30 export licenses for arms sales to Israel after GLAN and Al-Haq started the process of exploring an emergency court order (interim relief) for a complete stop to all UK arms export licences. The existing suspension included all weapons that could be used in Gaza and the West Bank but crucially excluded the global F-35 programme.

In making their latest decision on the export of parts for the F-35 warplane, the government weighed the illegal harm to civilians in Palestine against the operation of the global F-35 programme; it chose political expediency over the lives of Palestinians.  The government explicitly said, ‘The risk to the UK/US relationship’ was a key factor in deciding to continue with F-35 exports.

GLAN and Al-Haq have previously warned UK ministers of their risk of criminal liability for failing to halt weapons to Israel.

Dearbhla Minogue, Senior Lawyer with GLAN, said, "We welcome the fact that the government has been compelled to reconsider this F-35 "carve-out". The position they took is, in our estimation, legally untenable and we hope they will finally do the only reasonable thing - stop the transfer of any British weapons for use by Israel against Palestinians".

Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq General Director, said, “Every day our people are being killed by F-35’s in Gaza. Refugee camps packed with displaced families, the elderly, the sick, and children are being bombed by F-35’s, so-called ‘safe zones’ housing the displaced in makeshift tents are being bombed. Day after day bombed buildings crush the heads of our young children and babies. This must stop. The UK has international obligations to stop supplying arms and parts to Israel used to commit international crimes including genocide.”

Dr. Gearóid Ó Cuinn, GLAN Director, said, "The UK’s relentless push to export F-35 warplane components reveals a leadership complicit in genocide.  Foreign Secretary David Lammy even distorted the meaning of genocide in Parliament, to sidestep a clear legal duty to prevent it and to enforce a total arms embargo."