Arming the War in Israel-Palestine: Legal Considerations

As the Israel-Gaza conflict escalated last year, many civil society organizations and countries called for a halt to all weapons exports to the conflict. In some western countries, for example, legal challenges were filed asking for transparency in or a stop to the provision of weapons to Israel. This event provided an opportunity to learn about and discuss some of these legal challenges, framed within the broader context of increased litigation around arms transfers in recent years.

In particular, Frank Slijper discussed an ongoing challenge to the Netherlands’ supply of F-35 parts to Israel. Katherine Gallagher discussed a case filed in the United States arguing that the Biden administration failed to prevent and is complicit in Israel’s unfolding genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza, which calls for a prohibition on further US assistance. John Ramming Chappell discussed other legal considerations in the US context. Shahd Hammouri discussed the intersection of arms with cases at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and other regional mechanisms. Valentina Azarova moderateed and raise broader trends related to arms trade litigation.

This event was co-organised by the Forum on the Arms Trade and the Arms Trade Litigation Monitor. The Forum provides a platform for expert views but does not itself take positions.

Panelists:

• Frank Slijper, Arms Trade Project lead, PAX (Netherlands)
• Katherine Gallagher, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights (United States)
• John Ramming Chappell, Advocacy & Legal Fellow, U.S. Program, Center for Civilians in Conflict (United States)
• Dr. Shahd Hammouri, Lecturer in International Law, University of Kent; non-resident Fellow, Al Haq for Applied International Law (Palestine, Jordan, United Kingdom)
• ​Dr Valentina Azarova, co-founder, Emergent Justice Collective; co-creator, Arms Trade Litigation Monitor; part of Feminist Autonomous Centre for research (FAC research) – moderator