Miliband accused over arms exports to Israel

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Foreign secretary David Miliband has acted "in flagrant and continuing breach of international law" by failing to suspend arms exports to Israel, the High Court will hear after a case commenced yesterday .

In what is believed to be the first legal challenge to arise from Israel's 'Operation Cast Lead' in Gaza, lawyers representing over 30 Palestinian families have accused the foreign secretary, along with the ministers for defence and business, of acting illegally by failing to suspend arms trading and government assistance in response to alleged human rights violations by the Israeli government.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Palestinian charity Al-Haq said that the case would be the first of several legal actions brought against Israel, as activity steps up to examine the humanitarian and financial cost of recent events.

"The UK has urgent international obligations that it must fulfill immediately", Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing Al-Haq said yesterday.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office yesterday said that the claims made on behalf of Al-Haq were "wholly inapt" for resolution in the UK courts and insisted that "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."

However, the demands made by the case, including an immediate suspension of arms trading with Israel – worth £80 million in the past five years – come days after a report by human rights group Amnesty International drew further attention to allegations that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, including through its use of white phosphorus."

more