Secret consultation documents finally released after the Morning Star’s two-year freedom of information battle show the Home Office misrepresented public opinion, claiming support for policies that most respondents actually strongly criticised as dangerous and unfair, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
ANSELM ELDERGILL draws attention to a legal case on Tuesday in which a human rights group is challenging the government’s decision to allow the sale of weapons used against Palestinians

A FOUR-DAY High Court hearing begins on Tuesday in which Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organisation, is challenging the government’s decision to continue granting licences to sell F-35 fighter jet components and other weapons to Israel. Oxfam, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have intervened in the case.
Public statements by Israeli officials make it clear that F-35s are regularly used in military attacks on Gaza. The British government accepts there is a “clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international law.” It has also admitted that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law. However, it says that stopping the F-35 licences would “cause disruption to the global supply chain,” which will have a profound impact on international peace and security.
Al-Haq considers that this is an extraordinary position to take. According to its general director, “Gaza is destroyed, it is unliveable. Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and erased by weapons whose components are supplied to Israel by the British government, acting in full knowledge of the consequences.”



