GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Several human rights organizations have condemned the UK Supreme Court’s decision that a lawsuit against the government, challenging its continued arms sales to Israel, falls outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
Groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), and the Palestinian organization Al-Haq described the ruling day as a “dark day for justice, accountability, and international law.”
Following the court’s decision on Monday, several human rights organizations issued statements and spoke to the media in front of the courthouse.
Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director at Human Rights Watch, strongly criticized the ruling, saying, “Today is a sad day for justice, accountability, and international law—but even sadder for the Palestinian people who continue to face genocide and other atrocities.”
Doreen McCarthy, legal researcher at Al-Haq, said the ruling reveals the UK’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“This case is only the beginning of our struggle for justice and accountability,” McCarthy added.
She called on states to impose an arms embargo on Israel, sever all diplomatic, political, economic, and trade ties, expel Israel from the UN General Assembly for committing genocide, and arrest and prosecute perpetrators of genocide.
Sacha Deshmukh, Executive Director of Amnesty International UK, expressed disappointment with the court’s decision.
“Although the court made it clear that it is not the body to decide on the export of F-35 aircraft parts, this does not absolve the executive or Parliament from their responsibility,” Deshmukh added.
In 2024, Al-Haq and GLAN filed a legal petition to the UK’s highest court after repeated calls to suspend arms sales to Israel were ignored.
The two organizations had demanded that the UK government suspend all arms export licenses to Israel, including parts for F-35 fighter jets.
