Al Haq Files Suit Against UK Government Officials, Charges UK is Not Meeting Intn't Obligations to Stop Israel's Attacks on Civilians

Al Haq, Law in the Service of Man, Ramallah, press Release, February 23, 2009 - Al-Haq, in cooperation with solicitor Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), and the support of the Human Rights Legal Aid Trust, will be filing a claim in the UK High Court for judicial review on Tuesday 24 February 2009, challenging the UK government over its failure to fulfill its obligations under international law with respect to Israel’s activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). These obligations arise in the context of Israel’s breaches of peremptory norms of international law, namely interference with the Palestinian right to self-determination, de facto acquisition of territory by force, and breach of “intransgressible” principles of international humanitarian law. Those violations of international law, and the obligations they entail for third states, existed well before Israel’s most recent attacks on the Gaza Strip but the widespread civilian death and destruction caused during “Operation Cast Lead” and the distinct failure on the part of the international community to take any concrete action to stop Israel’s violations have forced Al-Haq to challenge third states directly, starting with the UK, in order to seek an end to the “business-as-usual” approach in relations with Israel.....

See also: Palestinian NGO Seeks UK Human Rights Justice (IMEMC, February 24, 2009).