British public outraged by govt. role in supplying weapons to Israel
A high court case, led by Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, challenges the UK's arms exports to Israel, which is committing genocide in Gaza, highlighting the risk of war crimes.
A demand heard innumerable times during the course of the Gaza genocide, the British public are once again making their position clear on their government supplying weapons to Israel.
We're to blame.
We're actually sending arms to Israel to destroy humanity in Gaza.
Protestor 01
I'm ashamed to be complicit in genocide, which our government is.
And I think this is a really important moment to show beyond those, those people who are politically concerned that this is an outrage, and we have to do something about it.
Protestor 02
And something is certainly being done about it in the form of a high court legal case brought by Palestinian rights group Al-Haq.
At the core of it, the UK made components for American made F 35 fighter jets.
We are here today in court to force the government to end, finally end, all arms sales to Israel.
The government itself concedes that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law, and the government also concedes the F 35 components, which it continues to send to Israel, are at a clear risk of committing war crimes.
We're here today to make that stop.
Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, Lawyer Representing Al-Haq
The UK is the second largest supplier of spare parts for the jet after the US. In September last year, it suspended 30 of its more than 300 arms export licenses to Israel, but it excluded components for the F-35, saying they couldn't ascertain where the parts ended up.
I simply do not believe that. The defense industry is, if nothing else, efficient. They know perfectly well where every single part is going.
They know perfectly well what the destination is.
And in any event, the people that are buying the material from them have to sign an end user certificate to say where the material is going to go to.
Jeremy Corbyn, Independent MP
The UK government claims there is no evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Humanitarian workers like Clemence, who saw it all firsthand, say it doesn't absolve it from responsibility.
So there is a responsibility for states to prevent the risk of genocide, and there are [sic] conclusive evidence that, from the ICJ that there, there is a risk of genocide currently.
So we should not be waiting ages and then issue apologies.
Clemence Lagourdat, Oxfam, Gaza Humanitarian Coordinator
The court will hear the case for four days. No date has yet been announced for a verdict.
The case has taken nearly a year to come to court, and the outcome of the current hearing will determine whether profit and commitment to an offensive alliance can override Britain's international legal obligations, especially when it comes to providing weapons to an entity that's being investigated by the International Court of Justice for genocide.
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