UK Islamic body starts legal action against Israeli arms shipments

A London-based Islamic NGO said yesterday it has commenced legal proceedings against British government over military shipments for Israel.

"Following many complaints that we have received from British citizens whose family members are in Lebanon and facing grave danger as well as acts of terror, the Islamic Human Rights Commission has decided to issue proceedings in the Royal Courts of Justice," read an IHRC press release.

It said that the move was against the Civil Aviation Authority, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as well as the Secretary of State for Defence, "to prevent them from their continued acts of aiding and abetting grave and serious violations of International Humanitarian Law and crimes against the Geneva Conventions that are continuing in the Republic of Lebanon." "It is unfortunate that our parliament as well as other members of the Cabinet and the relevant members of the government departments that are parties to this action have continued to ignore the anger and the will of the British public and have given the impression that they are willing participants in the war crimes that have taken place in the Republic of Lebanon." Last week Daily Telegraph reported that two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes filled with 5,000lb GBU 28 laser-guided bunker-busting bombs landed at Prestwick airport, near Glasgow, for refuelling and crew rests after flying across the Atlantic at the weekend.

"Rather than preventing the shipments of military hardware, ammunition, and munitions from the US to the State of Israel," IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjareh told IRNA, "The UK government has ignored its own policy and guidelines on the export of such materials to areas where they are likely to prolong an already bloody conflict." "The action undertaken by us is an attempt to force the relevant public authorities to respect the law as they know parliament has laid down for all UK citizens to respect and follow but which our government refuses to abide by," he said.

"We hope that the independent will finally uphold the will of parliament and enforce the law," Shadjareh added.

The use of British facilities for refuelling and crew rests has provoked outrage, with one Muslim Labor MP criticizing the government for proving it is `biased' towards Israel.

"We are not honest brokers any more and our policy towards Lebanon is biased and I think we have severely damaged our reputation in the international community," Mohammed Sarwar said.

Four parliamentary committees have criticized the government for turning a blind eye to the use of British equipment in Israeli aircraft and helicopters used to bomb Lebanon and Gaza in apparent breach of its own guidelines on arms exports.

On Monday, peace campaigners moved their protests to American airbase at Mildenhall, eastern England, after it was found that the US have switched refueling stops for its bomb-carrying flight for Israel from Prestwick airport in Scotland.

Anti-war protests were arranged at Prestwick over the weekend after reports that two more US flights were scheduled to stopover at the airport.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell has demanded that any further requests from the US to use British airports to transport weapons to Israel should be refused.

"I think one would have hoped that the US government would have been sensitive to the fact that this is an issue which is causing a great deal of concern in the United Kingdom and would not have made such requests," said Campbell.