Tuesday, October 2, 2007

British Government Faces Legal Challenge over Arms Sales to Israel

2 October 2007

Bethlehem
Ma'an – The British government will face a legal challenge over arms-related sales to Israel, a Palestinian human rights organization revealed on Tuesday.

The organization, Al-Haqq, says the UK government is in breach of international law by granting licenses to British arms companies to export weapons to Israel, which may then be used "for internal repression" against Palestinians.

The legal case, which is being lodged under the name of 60-year-old Bethlehem man, Saleh Hasan, against the British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, will start at London's High Court of Justice on October 10.

The UK's sale of arms-related equipment to Israel is in breach of its obligations under international law as well as statutory law, specifically the UK Export Control Act 2002, according to Phil Shiner, a British human rights lawyer who is acting for Hasan in the case.

The UK may not issue export licences to countries where there is a clear risk they may be used for internal repression or would be inconsistent with Britain's international obligations, he said.

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