Legal challenge to British government over suspension of arms to Israel

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“It’s not just wrong; it’s unlawful,” British barrister Natasha Hausdorff wrote in The Sunday Telegraph, criticizing the UK’s recent decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel, which is currently fighting seven fronts and still has 100 mainly civilian hostages in Gaza since Oct. 7.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), of which Hausdorff is director, has mounted an official legal challenge to the UK Government, meaning it could now face a judicial review unless it reverses its decision.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the partial ban on Sept 2 in the UK Parliament, citing a “clear risk” that “certain UK arms exports to Israel could be used to commit or enable serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

However, UKLFI’s Sept. 8 challenge points out that the criteria used to enforce the suspension – humanitarian assistance to Gazan civilians; and the treatment of Palestinian detainees – are not relevant to the particular arms whose export licences are being suspended.

UKLFI Chief Executive Jonathan Turner believes the move was yet another case of politics interfering with the law.

“We consider that there is a strong case that the Government’s decision was unlawful,” he said. “In truth, it was a political decision to appease members of the public who hate Israel based on misinformation and biased media coverage of the war. As such, it was a misuse of the power granted by the legislation.”

Hausdorff, after a tour of the Gaza Strip with a Western military delegation, wrote in an op-ed that Lammy's announcement is completely out of sync with what military experts and previous governments had determined.

“Successive UK and US governments have indicated satisfaction with Israel’s conduct in hostilities,” she wrote. “We witnessed first hand the unprecedented measures that the IDF is taking to prevent civilian casualties and facilitate aid into Gaza, despite Hamas diverting and stealing supplies.”

The experts who accompanied Hausdorff into the Strip, including members of the High Level Military Group, reported that “Israel’s efforts on targeting, proportionality and minimising civilian casualties far surpass what the British and US armies are capable of.”

Hausdorff concluded: “A decision by a government body based on improper purposes or upon irrelevant considerations is unlawful.”

The UKLFI has requested a response by Sept. 20.