On July 27, 2009, a UK court dismissed Al Haq’s lawfare case (and what appeared to be the first case initiated by the Gaza Legal Aid Fund) against UK Secretaries of State David Milliband, John Hutton, and Peter Mandelson for “failure to fulfill…obligations under international law with respect to Israel’s activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)” including the “denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination, de facto acquisition of territory by force, and breach of ‘intransgressible’ [sic.] principles of international humanitarian law.” The decision marks the latest rejection of NGO attempts to circumvent democratic processes by exploiting courts around the world to impose their political agendas.

Al-Haq, which is among the leaders of the lawfare strategy against Israel, is funded by European governments, including Norway and Sweden, as well as Christian Aid. A similar Al-Haq suit from 2006 to block the issuance of export licenses for the sale of weapons to Israel was also thrown out by the British appellate court in November 2008.

Al-Haq’s General Director, Shawan Jabarin, has been denied travel visas by both Israel and Jordan because of his role, according to the Israeli Supreme Court, as a “senior activist” in the PFLP terrorist organization.