No proof of genocide in Gaza, says government in arms exports case

No evidence has been seen that a genocide is occurring in Gaza or that women and children were targeted by the Israel Defense Forces, government lawyers claimed yesterday, as a high court case opened into the handling of arms exports to Israel.

- Patrick Wintour

They also suggested there was no obligation placed on the UK to make other states comply with international humanitarian law but only to ensure that no breach occurred within its jurisdiction.

The government is defending itself in a judicial review brought over allegations that it acted unlawfully in continuing to sell F-35 fighter jet parts and components to a global pool, even though some of those components might be used by Israel in Gaza in a way the government regards as a breach of international law.

Much of the case will turn on the extent to which international law places obligations in domestic law.

At the start of a four-day hearing at the high court in London, Raza Husain KC, for the Palestinian rights organisation Al-Haq, said: "This claim is being heard against the backdrop of human calamity unfolding in Gaza, the extremity of which is difficult to convey in words."

In September the government suspended most relevant arms export licences for use in Israel but gave a carve-out to the F-35 programme, saying international peace and security required that it was not disrupted.