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.

    • @perestroika@lemm.ee
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      321 month ago

      Yes. These guys have a vested interest in their client selling F-35 parts, so they will try to paint white as black.

      The interesting part will be whether the court accepts their reasoning.

      • ddh
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        111 month ago

        “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” - Upton Sinclair

  • franpoli
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    521 month ago

    Defense lawyers are ethically obligated to plead for their clients; just as Otto Stahmer denied overwhelming evidence to argue for Hermann Göring’s acquittal, despite his documented role as a chief architect of the Holocaust. Meanwhile, England acts as a co-belligerent in Palestine, supplying arms to Israel, vetoing ceasefire efforts, and challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes against humanity. Its refusal to recognize genocide follows a familiar pattern: admission would compel accountability for its own complicity.

      • franpoli
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        1 month ago

        Let’s hold the UK government to its own words.

        Official UK statement (13 Oct 2023):

        Prime Minister deploys UK military to Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel (gov.uk, archiveve.today, archive.org)

        The UK government claims its military deployment, including surveillance flights from Cyprus, is for “supporting civilians to leave Gaza.” However, this aligns with Israel’s efforts to forcibly relocate Palestinians from Gaza, which many legal experts argue could constitute a war crime or even ethnic cleansing under international law.

    • @Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 month ago

      The current leadership of the British party which is now in Government has a MASSIVE personal debt to Israel and Israeli-linked Jewish Organisations in Britain for their campaign to oust the previous leader of the party - the first actual leftwinger elected to it since the 80s - using accusations of anti-semitism which were so wild that at one point a Jewish Holocaust Survivor was repeatedly said to be an anti-semite for what he said in a conference for Palestine, as a means to claim that Labour leader was an anti-semite by association (they sat in the same panel in that conference).

      Israel delivered Sir Keir Starmer the top position at the party which was the next in line to get into Government and hence his premiership and Sir Keir Starmer is paying them back by having Britain help Israel mass murder Palestinian children.

      The very Prime Minister of the British Government (as well as pretty much the whole of the Labour leadership) has been bought by Israel, not with money but with the greatest favour in their lives.

    • Dr. Moose
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      51 month ago

      Yup Israel has always had a free pass cause they’re basically the only ally of west in broken and dangerous middle east.

      Thats why Saudi Arabia is so fascinating - if they drag middle east out of swamp of incompetence they could make Israel redundant and take away its free pass.

      • @InvertedParallax@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        if they drag middle east out of swamp of incompetence they could make Israel redundant and take away its free pass.

        Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?

        Saudi Arabia is the MOST incompetent of the whole bunch!

        It just doesn’t matter because they literally have more money than God.

        They’re so ultra-inbred incompetent that they literally founded, funded and armed a terrorist group that made their first and foremost goal the fall of Saudi Arabia under an Islamic caliphate.

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

        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.

        • Dr. Moose
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          41 month ago

          You seem wildly confused what competence we’re talking about here. Saudi Arabia by far is the most competent Middle East country when it comes to building relationships with the west, no?

          • NoneOfUrBusiness
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            101 month ago

            First of all no, that’d be the UAE, but more importantly you don’t need competence to build relationships with the West; you need to be a fucking sellout. Which most of the region is, but still, it’s not a matter of competence.

            • Dr. Moose
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              21 month ago

              Yes geopolitics is about selling out to the evil capitalism scary spooky west! Don’t trip over your tank tracks.

              • NoneOfUrBusiness
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                81 month ago

                Yes geopolitics is about selling out to the evil capitalism scary spooky west!

                When that geopolitics comes at the cost of ignoring an ongoing genocide on your doorstep (and a litany of other, less flashy manifestations of Western tyranny), yes that’s true.

      • NoneOfUrBusiness
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        131 month ago

        Yup Israel has always had a free pass cause they’re basically the only ally of west in broken and dangerous middle east.

        I fucking wonder who made it so “broken and dangerous”. That aside the Middle East being “broken and dangerous” is a relatively recent phenomenon; the Israeli-Western relationship came to be because the Arab world mostly fell on the side of the USSR during the cold war.

        • Dr. Moose
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          51 month ago

          Ah yes it’s the west that did it! Not the oppressive local religion and failed culture, not that at all! /s

          The perpetual victims while also being the greatest and god chosen too.

          • NoneOfUrBusiness
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            91 month ago

            Ah yes it’s the west that did it! Not the oppressive local religion and failed culture, not that at all! /s

            Yes, exactly, good thing you’re aware of that. It was the West, specifically America but also some Brits and Poles, blowing up Iraq that set this whole mess in action.

        • Dr. Moose
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          51 month ago

          Not sure what that has to do with anything I said but sure

            • Dr. Moose
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              1 month ago

              That’s not what I said, maybe take a nap or something? You seem groggy

                • Dr. Moose
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                  71 month ago

                  Reading comprehension and mental healthcare of a true American lmao

                  Take care

                • @dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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                  11 month ago

                  You have very bad reading comprehension. The person you are quoting never praised Saudi Arabia and never said they were the saviors of anything.

  • @Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    251 month ago

    New Labour has fully transitioned the Labour Party to a Ethno-Fascist Genocide supporting Far Right party.

    Almost every other week I get reminded of just how good my decision to leave Britain with Brexit was.

  • Lord Wiggle
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    251 month ago

    There’s no evidence there are trees in the forest.

    There’s no evidence the earth is round.

  • @Akasazh@feddit.nl
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    211 month ago

    Well of course Lawyers would say that. Defending amoral actions by their clients is their raison d’etre.

    I’m more curious what the judges say tbh

  • @Whateley@lemm.ee
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    181 month ago

    I can show them ttlhe videos I’ve seen of fathers dragging the broken bodies of their children from burning rubble if they need evidence. Fucking ghouls.

  • @hedhoncho@lemm.ee
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    171 month ago

    Of course there’s genocide. Palestine has been fighting for their homes since I was born. It’s so tragic

    • @TheFriar@lemm.ee
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      161 month ago

      You have. They’ve all said Israel is at least committing widespread war crimes, while plenty have said it’s a straight up genocide or apartheid.