Britain accused of complicity in the Gaza genocide after the Supreme Court ruling on Israeli weapons

Several human rights organizations have criticized the UK Supreme Court's ruling that the lawsuit against the government for continuing to sell arms to Israel is not within the jurisdiction of the courts.

These organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Legal Action Network, and the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, described the decision day as "sad for justice, accountability, and international law."

Several human rights organizations delivered statements and media briefings outside the court building following the ruling on Monday.

Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the Supreme Court's decision, saying, "Today is a sad day for justice, accountability, and international law, but it is even sadder for the Palestinian people, who continue to face genocide and other atrocities."

Doreen McCarthy, a legal researcher at Al-Haq, said the court's decision demonstrates "the UK's complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza."

"This case is just the beginning in our struggle for justice and accountability," McCarthy added.

McCarthy called on countries to impose an arms embargo on Israel, sever all diplomatic, political, economic, and trade ties with it, expel Israel from the UN General Assembly as a state committing genocide, and arrest and prosecute perpetrators of genocide.

Amnesty International UK's Executive Director, Sacha Deshmukh, expressed disappointment with the court's decision.

"Although the court has made it clear that it is not the authority to decide on the export of F-35 spare parts, this does not absolve the executive or parliament from responsibility," Deshmukh said.

In 2024, Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network filed a High Court application against the British government after their requests to suspend arms sales to Israel were repeatedly ignored.

The two organizations called on the British government to suspend all arms sales licenses to Israel, including spare parts for F-35 fighter jets.