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Case Overview

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GLAN and Al-Haq are taking the UK government to the High Court over continued weapons exports to Israel, despite the ongoing violations of international law and UK rules which demand an immediate halt of all export licences.

Current status: Full hearing starts 13 May 2025. 

The High Court has ruled that a 4 day expedited hearing will take place starting on 13th May 2025 to decide Al-Haq’s challenge to the government’s decision in September to (i) keep supplying F-35 parts to Israel indirectly (the ‘F-35 Carve Out Decision’), and (ii) keep supplying equipment that the government did not assess were capable of being used in the conflict in Gaza: - despite finding that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law.

The ongoing situation in Gaza is catastrophic, everyday civilians are being bombed – those that survive are being deliberately starved, with all aid illegally blocked by Israel since 1st March 2025. F-35 jets, the most lethal fighter jet in the world, are central to Israel’s bombing campaign. F-35s are made with British parts – without them, these jets could not fly.  

November Hearing 

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After our hearing at the High Court on 18 November 2024 GLAN and Al-Haq exposed several failures in the government’s decision-making over arms exports to Israel:​

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• During proceedings in our case, the government was forced to admit that “Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law” by its own assessment. 

• GLAN and Al-Haq can reveal the government waited 5 weeks to act on its own assessment (made on 24 July 2024) that UK weaponry was at risk of being used in serious violations of IHL and that exports should be suspended. Between 24 July and 2 September, at least 1,716 Palestinians were killed by Israel in Gaza, according to UNOCHA. 

• In making their latest decision, the government weighed the harm to civilians in Palestine against the operation of the global F-35 programme; it chose political expediency over the lives of Palestinians.  The government explicitly said, ‘The risk to the UK/US relationship’ was a key factor in deciding to continue with F-35 exports. 

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F-35 Exemption Decision

The government announced on 2nd September 2024 that they have partially suspended UK weapons exports to Israel, following emergency action by GLAN and Al-Haq. There are 30 export licences which have been suspended of 350 current export licences to Israel and aid this will not include component parts for the F-35 programme. We are continuing our fight for accountability and for a total suspension of all export licences to Israel. 

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GLAN and Al-Haq wrote to the government, informing it our intent to issue fresh proceedings seeking an order from the court requiring the exercise of the suspension mechanism, by way of urgent interim relief (similar to an injunction). The Government was required to respond to our letter by Tuesday 3th September 2024 at 4pm, but on Monday 2nd September 2024 decided to instead partially suspend export licences to Israel, deliberately creating a loophole allowing F-35 components to make their way to Israel via the United States. We are now fighting to ensure that all export licences, including the F-35 exemption, are halted. 

We have now filed our extensive evidence with the High Court detailing the unlawful and unreliable use of torture derived information by Israel to justify attacks on medical personnel and facilities as well as aid workers, which undermines the UK's reliance on Israeli assurances in their response to our case. The case will be before the court on 13th May 2025.

Oxfam GB, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International UK have submitted written interventions to the court support of our case and will be there in court for the hearing.  ​

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>>> Read five things we learned from the renewal hearing in April 2024.

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Other Key Case Developments

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