THE GUARDIAN: Lawyers for Palestinian families claim foreign secretary's failure to ban arms sales to Israel flouted international law
The foreign secretary, David Miliband, has acted "in flagrant and continuing breach of international law" in failing to suspend arms exports to Israel, the high court will be told.
In what is thought to be the first legal challenge resulting from Israel's operation in Gaza, lawyers representing more than 30 Palestinian families have accused Miliband, along with the ministers for defence and business, of acting illegally by failing to suspend arms sales and government assistance after alleged Israeli human rights violations.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Palestinian charity Al-Haq said the case would be the first of numerous actions brought against Israel, as activity is stepped up to examine the humanitarian and financial cost of recent events.
"The UK has urgent international obligations that it must fulfil immediately," Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing Al-Haq, said today.
A Foreign Office statement said the claims made on behalf of Al-Haq were "wholly inapt" for resolution in the UK courts and insisted "the government continues to work hard in an effort to secure peace in the Middle East".
"Britain has some of the tightest regulations in the world for arms sales," the statement adds.
"The government monitors the situation in Israel with care in considering applications for arms export licences."
A high court judge will examine the papers in the case and decide within seven days whether it should proceed. >>> Afua Hirsch and David Pallister | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
