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Rights groups on Tuesday urged judges to halt Britain’s supply of fighter jet parts to Israel amid the war in Gaza, as they took the government to court and accused it of breaking international law.Supported by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking a court order to stop the government’s export of UK-made components for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.Israel has used the US warplanes to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank.Outside the High Court in London, around 50 protesters waved Palestinian flags and placards with the words “Stop Arming Israel: Stop the genocide”.Inside the packed courtroom, Al-Haq lawyer Raza Husain said the case was “being heard against the backdrop of human calamity unfolding in Gaza, the extremity of which is difficult to convey in words.”He argued the government’s trade department had unlawfully allowed exports of F-35 parts knowing there was a “clear risk” Israel would use them to commit violations of international law in Gaza.Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide.The plane’s refuelling probe, laser targeting system, tyres, rear fuselage, fan propulsion system and ejector seat are all made in Britain, according to Oxfam, and lawyers for Al-Haq have said the aircraft “could not keep flying without continuous supply of UK-made components.”Britain’s defence ministry has previously said suspending F-35 licences would “undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO,” while in a written submission a lawyer for the government said its actions were “consistent with the rules of international law.”It is not certain when a decision could be made following the four-day hearing, which marks the latest stage in a long-running legal battle.- ‘Loophole’ -Lawyers for the Global Action Legal Network (GLAN) have said they launched the case soon after Israel’s assault on Gaza began, following the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel led by Palestinian militants from Hamas. The lawyers said the UK government had decided in December 2023 and again in April and May 2024 to continue arms sales to Israel, before suspending licences in September 2024 for weapons assessed as being for military use by the Israeli army in Gaza.The new Labour government suspended around 30 of 350 export licences following a review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.But the partial ban did not cover British-made parts for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets.A UK government spokesperson told AFP it was “not currently possible to suspend licensing of F-35 components for use by Israel without prejudicing the entire global F-35 programme, due to its strategic role in NATO and wider implications for international peace and security”.”Within a couple of months of coming to office, we suspended relevant licences for the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law in Gaza,” they said.But GLAN described the F-35 exemption as a “loophole” which allowed the components to reach Israel through a global pooling system.Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer for GLAN, told a briefing last week the UK government had “expressly departed from its own domestic law in order to keep arming Israel”, with F-35s being used to drop “multi-ton bombs on the people of Gaza”.The 2023 Hamas-led attack in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 52,908 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, whose figures the United Nations deems reliable.”Under the Genocide Convention, the UK has a clear legal obligation to do everything within its power to prevent genocide,” said Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive.  “Yet the UK government continues to authorise the export of military equipment to Israel. “This is a fundamental failure by the UK to fulfil its obligations.”

The US Senate’s top Democrat announced Tuesday he would hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar.The Gulf state’s royal family has offered to donate a 747-8 jumbo jet as Trump awaits the delayed delivery of two new presidential planes from Boeing.But the move raises huge constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.”This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Tuesday. Schumer’s blanket hold — the first time he has ever resorted to such a move — applies to dozens of would-be appointees, and could significantly delay their start dates in the Trump administration.But very few Trump nominees were benefiting from bipartisan agreements to fast-track them through the Senate in any case, meaning Schumer’s announcement will likely only have a limited practical impact. The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State,” in a section known as the Emoluments Clause.Schumer called for the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) unit to “disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the US that could benefit” Trump or his businesses.He also demanded information from the administration about the jet itself, such as whether it comes with security enhancements or would have to be upgraded by the United States. “How much will those modifications cost American taxpayers? Hundreds of billions of dollars? Hundreds of millions of dollars? Billions of dollars?” he asked.And he called for an explanation of what the jet means for future presidential planes that the government has already agreed to buy from Boeing.The veteran New York Democrat is also demanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi — who once served as a lobbyist for the Qatari government — testify before Congress to explain her approval of the gift.Although Democrats are out of power and cannot block Trump appointees on their own, several have announced holds on groups or individuals that make the confirmation process more drawn-out and unwieldy.Senator Chris Murphy has also pledged to force votes to block weapons sales to Qatar.Trump, on a trip this week to the Middle East including Qatar, has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. Bush.Under questioning from reporters on Monday, Trump angrily defended the arrangement with Qatar, saying he would be “stupid” not to accept such a gift.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, despite ongoing ceasefire efforts and the release of a US-Israeli hostage from the war-ravaged territory.”In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement from his office on Tuesday. “Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,” Netanyahu said.”There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way.”The prime minister’s comments followed the return on Monday of 21-year-old soldier Edan Alexander, who had been in Hamas captivity since the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.Netanyahu had credited Alexander’s release to a combination of “our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by (US) President (Donald) Trump.”But on Tuesday, Hamas rejected the claim.”The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration and the efforts of mediators, not a consequence of Israeli aggression or the illusion of military pressure,” the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid a deadlock over how to proceed with a January 19 ceasefire.Earlier this month, Israel’s government approved plans to expand its offensive, with officials talking of retaining a long-term presence there. Israel says that its renewed bombardments are aimed at forcing Hamas to free hostages.- ‘Made of steel’ -The release of Alexander — the last living captive in Gaza with US citizenship — came a day after Hamas revealed it was engaged in direct talks with Washington towards a ceasefire in Gaza.Netanyahu on Monday thanked Trump “for his assistance in the release” and said would be sending a negotiating team to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of the remaining captives.He had said earlier Monday that negotiations for a possible deal to secure the release of all hostages would continue “under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting”.Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on the first leg of a Gulf tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Netanyahu on Tuesday spoke on the phone with Alexander and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who met the former hostage in hospital.”The entire nation of Israel is overjoyed,” Netanyahu said on the call, according to a video released by his office.”We are grateful for American support and deeply appreciate the (Israeli) soldiers who are prepared to act by any means necessary if the remaining hostages are not released,” he added.When asked by Netanyahu how he was feeling, Alexander replied: “It’s crazy, unbelievable. I’m okay. Weak, but slowly I’ll get back to how I was before. It’s just a matter of time.”Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler met with hostages’ relatives in Tel Aviv, with Witkoff emphasising that “they will accept nothing less than the return of everyone, as this is the (US) President’s mission,” a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. – ‘Over 50 percent will leave’ -During the meeting with soldiers late Monday, Netanyahu said Israel was working to find countries that may be willing to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.Israeli ministers have seized on a proposal initially floated by Trump for the voluntary departure of Gazans to neighbouring countries such as Jordan or Egypt.Cairo and Amman, along with other Arab allies, governments around the world and the Palestinians themselves, have flatly rejected the proposal.”We’ve set up an administration that will allow them (Gaza residents) to leave but… we need countries willing to take them in. That’s what we’re working on right now,” he said, adding that he estimated “over 50 percent will leave” if given the option.The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.In addition, militants abducted 251 people, of whom 57 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli army.The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation for the October 7 attack has killed at least 52,908 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run health ministry, which is considered reliable by the UN.

The Cannes film festival kicks off on the French Riviera on Tuesday, with organisers facing pressure to take a stance on Israel’s siege of Gaza after a letter from hundreds of top cinema figures denouncing “genocide” in the Palestinian territory.More than 380 film insiders including “Schindler’s List” actor Ralph Fiennes and four former Cannes-winning directors said they were “ashamed” of their industry’s “passivity”.”We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza,” read the letter initiated by several pro-Palestinian activist groups and published in French newspaper Liberation and US magazine Variety. The signatories — which include Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon as well as acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winners Ruben Ostlund, Mike Leigh and Costa-Gavras — also denounced the death of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna.Hassouna, 25, is the subject of a documentary that will premiere in Cannes on Thursday by exiled Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, titled “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”.Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli air strike on her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.Farsi called on Cannes Festival organisers to denounce Israel’s ongoing bombardment and siege of the Palestinian territory. “There needs to be a real statement,” she told AFP.This year’s Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche was initially said by organisers to have signed the petition but her name was not on the final published list.Speaking to reporters, she said “you’ll maybe understand it a little later”, hinting that she or the festival might make some sort of a statement at the opening ceremony that starts at 7:15 pm (1715 GMT). Other notable signatories of the Gaza petition include Jonathan Glazer, the British director of Jewish origin who won an Oscar for his 2023 Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest”, as well as US star Mark Ruffalo and Spanish actor Javier Bardem.- War programming -Other off-screen news in France also risked overshadowing the opening ceremony on Tuesday, which will see Robert De Niro receive an honorary Palme d’Or award from fellow actor and occasional co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.In a court decision followed by the entire film world, legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu was convicted Tuesday of sexual harassment in a Paris court and handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence.The 76-year-old, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France’s response to the #MeToo movement against sexual violence.Binoche said Depardieu had “lost his aura” and “when someone loses their aura like he is at the moment, it makes you think about the power of a certain person, who creates power”. Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux declined to give his view on the case at a press conference on Monday.Fremaux will be hoping the festival’s film selections take greater prominence in the coming days, though politics and the outside world often dominate the conversation in Cannes.The inaugural film on Tuesday is musical drama “Leave One Day” by newcomer French director Amelie Bonnin, who will become the first debut director to be granted the prestigious opening slot.New red carpet rules, prohibiting “total nudity” and limiting the length of the trains on dresses, are also set to come into force.Oscar-winning Hollywood star Halle Berry, who is on the nine-member jury judging the main competition this year, said she had been tripped up by the train restrictions and had had to change outfits.”The nudity part is probably also a good rule,” she told reporters.- Cruise in town – While independent cinema forms the core of the Cannes festival, organisers have also handed over part of the programme this year, as usual, to major Hollywood blockbusters.Tom Cruise is set to return to the Riviera for the premiere of the latest instalment of his “Mission: Impossible” franchise on Wednesday, three years after attending the festival for “Top Gun: Maverick”.After US President Donald Trump threatened to implement 100-percent tariffs on movies “produced in foreign lands”, Fremaux talked up the prominence of US-made films in Cannes.Movies from directors Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster and Kelly Reichardt are competing for the top Palme d’Or award in the main competition.”American cinema remains great cinema. The United States remains a great country of cinema,” he said.Binoche said she understood that Trump was “trying in many, many different ways to save America, and save his ass”.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday trumpeted major business deals with Saudi Arabia as he basked in a lavish royal welcome on the first state visit of his second term.The Saudi hosts escorted Air Force One into the kingdom with fighter jets before bringing out long-stretching guards of honour and sending flag-waving horseback cavalry to accompany Trump’s motorcade to the palace.Under imposing chandeliers, Trump welcomed a promise by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for $600 billion in investment and quipped that it should be $1 trillion.”We have the biggest business leaders in the world here today and they’re going to walk away with a lot of cheques,” Trump told the prince.For “the United States, it’s probably two million jobs that we’re talking about,” Trump said.With cameras rolling, a lengthy procession of Saudi royalty and business figures waited their turn to shake hands with Trump and the crown prince, including Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and close advisor to Trump who made a rare appearance in a suit.Trump will address an investment forum in Riyadh where specifics of deals are expected to be announced.He will head later in the week head to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, fellow oil-rich Arab monarchies with long-standing ties to the United States.In choosing the Gulf for his first major tour, the 78-year-old billionaire is again bypassing traditional presidential stops in Western allies, some of which have been unnerved by his norms-shattering diplomacy.Eight years ago Trump also chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas trip — when he posed with a glowing orb and participated in a sword dance.Trump’s embrace of the Saudis contrasts with a more hesitant initial approach by former president Joe Biden, who had vowed to punish the crown prince after US intelligence found that he ordered the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.Trump reminisced with the 39-year-old crown prince of their first meeting, saying he was “so impressed with this young guy who was very wise beyond his years”.- Saudis seek image change -Since Khashoggi’s gruesome killing, Saudi Arabia has worked aggressively to change its image, from easing restrictions on women to pursuing initiatives in new areas such as artificial intelligence.Saudi Arabia has also increasingly exercised diplomatic clout, serving as a venue for the United States to pursue talks with Ukraine and Russia.Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also sought outsized international roles, with the Qataris serving as a mediator along with the United States and Egypt in the Israel-Hamas conflict.Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that for Trump, the Gulf “is his happy place”.”His hosts will be generous and hospitable. They’ll be keen to make deals. They’ll flatter him and not criticise him. And they’ll treat his family members as past and future business partners,” he said.According to a Saudi official close to the defence ministry, Riyadh will push for securing the latest US F-35 fighter jets along with state-of-the-art air defence systems worth billions of dollars.”We will condition that the deliveries take place during Trump’s term,” the source told AFP.- Lavish plane -Not to be outdone, Qatar has offered a luxury Boeing aircraft for Trump to refurbish as Air Force One and then use personally after he leaves the White House.Trump’s Democratic rivals have called the gift blatant corruption. Trump has hit back that it was “very public and transparent” and said: “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.”An ultimate prize, pushed both by Trump and Biden, has been to persuade Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest sites, to take the landmark step of recognising Israel.But Israel normalisation is not likely to feature high on the agenda on Trump’s trip, with Riyadh insisting a Palestinian state must be established first.Israel has cut off all food and other supplies to Gaza for more than two months as it pursues a new offensive against Hamas militants.The United States, which has quietly been frustrated with its ally, negotiated directly with Hamas to secure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander, to whom Trump spoke by telephone Tuesday.Iran will likely feature prominently in the talks in the Gaza, following the Trump administration’s fourth round of nuclear negotiations with Tehran at the weekend.Both sides have voiced hope but the United States on Monday imposed fresh sanctions targeting Iran’s suspect nuclear programme.