UK Supreme Court ruled Monday that the British government's decision to allow the export of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel was legal, despite the government's confirmation that Israel may be using them in Gaza in violation of international humanitarian law.
The Guardian reported that the ruling is a huge relief for the British government - and brings to an end a 20-month struggle by human rights organizations in the UK.
The case was brought by human rights groups in collaboration with Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam. The judges ruled that the courts should not interfere in a “sensitive political issue” and that it was better to leave the matter to ministers and parliament. The judges said the case concerned a “much more focused issue” than the carve-out of F-35 parts from a UK arms export ban imposed last September.
The Supreme Court judges added that “the issue is whether it is open to the court to rule that the UK must withdraw from a specific multilateral defense collaboration which is reasonably regarded by the responsible ministers as vital to the defense of the UK and to international peace and security, 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.
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“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.”
Government ministers have argued that a ban on the sale of the parts would bring the entire F-35 program to a halt, with wider implications for NATO and European security.