Palestinian rights organisation Al-Haq has launched high court action over carve-out of F-35 fighter jet programme

No evidence has been seen that a genocide is occurring in Gaza or that women and children were targeted by the IDF, UK government lawyers have claimed, as a high court case opened into the handling of arms exports controls to Israel.

They also suggested there was no obligation placed on the UK to make other states comply with international humanitarian law but only to ensure that no breach occured within its jurisdiction.

The government is seeking to defend itself in a judicial review brought over allegations that it acted unlawfully in continuing to sell F-35 parts and components to a global pool, even though some of those components might be used by Israel in Gaza in a way that the government regards as a breach of international law.

Much of the case will turn on the extent to which international law places obligations in domestic law.

  • futatorius@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    3 hours ago

    They learned to stay out of wars decades ago, because they’re too mentally damaged to fight them.

    The Saudis fought in the first Gulf War (though not in the second one). There were Iraqi incursions in northeast KSA near the Kuwaiti border, and Scud missile attacks on Dhahran/Al-Khobar. I am acquainted with a US general who commanded a tank battalion in that war. He said one of their orders was to shoot the Saudi tanks if they tried to run and hide. He said they had to do that twice before the rest got the message.

    I mean, until they tried to genocide Yemen, and of course got their asses handed to them by unarmed goat-herders who are still infinitely less trash.

    With the exception of some of the Bedouins, Saudis are soft. Yemenis are mean, qat-chewing sons of bitches who’ve been through a long civil war and who all seem to own AK47s. MBS’s genocide is accomplished entirely by aerial bombardment of largely civilian populations. Fighting house-to-house in Yemen would incur too many casualties, even if the Saudi armed forces were at the top of their game, which they most decidedly are not.