A long-awaited court case concerning the UK government's role in supplying parts for the F-35 fighter jet began at the High Court on Tuesday. Al-Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade is set to last four days.
The case was brought by Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group, which argues that the UK government is in breach of the law by continuing to participate in the F-35 program.
The law in question is the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which contains stipulations such as the UK's obligations under the UN Arms Trade Treaty, and whether the grant of the licence would provoke or prolong armed conflicts.
Criterion Two states that the UK must not grant a licence if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. It is on this basis that Al-Haq has brought the case, claiming that Israel's reported violations of international human law should mean a full ban on the fighter jet parts.
If the case succeeds, the British government may have to reverse its September decision not to include F-35 parts in its license suspensions, a move which affected 30 other arms exports but not the fighter jet. This, Al-Haq said, was achieved through the "F-35 Carve Out", a "deliberate loophole" that meant that parts could reach Israel indirectly via the Global Spares Pool.
The Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom. (credit: Rian Ree Saunders/Wikimedia Commons/JTA)
The text of the filing says the "F-35 Carve Out gives rise to a significant risk of facilitating offences under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which make most serious violations of international humanitarian law (“IHL”) offences in domestic law."
Al-Haq's case is supported by other human rights groups, including Glan (Global Legal Action Network), Oxfam, Amnesty, and Human Rights Watch. Oxfam's involvement focuses on its documentation of the destruction caused by the IAF on water, sanitation, and health facilities.
GLAN director Gearóid Ó Cuinn told The Independent that “The F-35 is a critical platform for the execution of Israel’s policies in Gaza."
“[Israel's] been dropping these profoundly destructive 2,000-pound bombs which have a kill radius of about 57 football fields," he added.
In a public statement, he said, "No loopholes or political calculation can justify complicity in the destruction of a people."
Shawan Jabarin, the Al-Haq General Director, said, “The UK government remains utterly complicit in its ongoing arms sales to Israel, which, emboldened by impunity, has escalated its genocide against the Palestinian people."
Jennine Walker, a Glan lawyer representing Al-Haq, told The Guardian that the UK's decision to supply the parts is a "flagrant violation of the law."
Walker argued that it is possible for the UK to stop supplying British-made parts, despite Defence Secretary John Healey telling a preliminary hearing that suspending F-35 licences would impact the whole F-35 programme, which would have a "profound impact on international peace and security."
Healey also said at the time that such a suspension would “undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO at a critical juncture in our collective history and set back relations."
Britain restricted arms export licenses in September 2024 for 30 arms export licenses, but did not restrict the licences for F-35s. The announcement of the suspension came just a day before the UK was due to defend the exports to Israel in court, according to British media.
A UK government spokesperson told The Independent that it remains committed to both domestic and international law, and reiterated that “Within a couple of months of coming to office, we suspended relevant licences for the Israeli Defence Force that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.”
UK provides 15% of F-35 values
According to British media, the UK provides 15% of the value of the F-35, making it the second largest part supplier after America. This includes parts such as targeting lasers and ejector seats.
During the Israel-Hamas War, the IAF's Flight Test Center (FTC) developed a new capability to carry external JDAM munitions on the aircraft's wings in cooperation with Lockheed Martin and the US Pentagon's F-35 program.
"The Israeli Adir (F-35I) aircraft is the only one in the world to have carried out operational strikes with an external armament configuration, which increased the attack capabilities," the IAF said in March 2025, adding that "increasing the Adir's array is a significant boost to the Air Force's lethal capabilities.
Last week, the Palestinian Youth Movement organization released a report about British arms exports based on data from the Israel Tax Authority.
According to the report, citing the ITA, the UK has sent 8,630 separate munitions to Israel since the September suspensions took effect, all in the category ‘Bombs, Grenades, Torpedoes, Mines, Missiles And Similar Munitions Of War And Parts Thereof – Other.'
The report caused uproar among British politicians, with over 40 MPs signing a joint letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy to "come clean" over the allegations.
