Rights groups and NGOs are dragging the UK government to court accusing it of breaching international law by supplying fighter jet parts to Israel amid the conflict in Gaza, AFP reports.

Supported by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking to stop the government’s export of UK-made components for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.

Israel has used the American warplanes to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank, and the head of Amnesty UK said Britain had failed to uphold its “legal obligation … to prevent genocide” by allowing the export of key parts to Israel.

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 that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law in Gaza,” they said.