LONDON, April 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Britain's High Court agreed Tuesday to
hear a legal challenge later this year over continued UK arms exports to
Israel during its war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

A coalition of legal advocacy groups wants the court to scrutinise the UK
government's decision to keep selling military parts and arms to Israel
despite claims that it is unlawful because they are allegedly used in war
crimes.

Britain's strategic licensing criteria state that weapons should not be
exported when there is a clear risk they could be used in violations of
international humanitarian law.

The UK government department for business and trade, which authorises the
sales on the advice of the foreign office, is fighting the legal challenge.

At a court hearing Tuesday, judge Jonathan Swift scheduled the case for a
full hearing in October after various provisional legal matters are resolved
over the coming months.

In February the court had rejected a petition to fast-track the case, which
was opposed by government lawyers.

Dearbhla Minogue, senior lawyer at the Global Legal Action Network which is
involved in the case, accused ministers of making the process "as
painstakingly slow as possible".

"Given the urgency of the situation in Gaza, the government should listen to
the international legal consensus and halt weapons sales now," she said.

The war erupted when Palestinian militants poured across the border with
Israel on October 7 in an unprecedented Hamas-led attack that resulted in the
deaths of 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official
figures.

In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that has killed at least
34,183 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health
ministry in the Hamas-run territory.