Bethlehem – Maan – A legal case against the British government over arms-related sales to Israel will begin in Londons Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday afternoon.

The legal case is being lodged under the name of 60-year-old Palestinian man, Saleh Hassan, against the British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Lawyers who are bringing the case says the UK government is in breach of international law by granting licenses to British arms companies to export weapons to Israel, which may then be used "for internal repression" against Palestinians.

The UKs sale of arms-related equipment to Israel is in breach of its obligations under international law as well as statutory law, specifically the UK Export Control Act 2002, according to Phil Shiner, a British human rights lawyer who is acting for Hassan in the case.

The UK may not issue export licenses to countries where there is a clear risk they may be used for internal repression or would be inconsistent with Britains international obligations, he said.

Mr Hassan says that the Israeli army has confiscated much of his farmland, near Bethlehem, to build the separation wall. He describes it as an -annexation wall,- used by the Israelis as a way to grab as much Palestinian land as possible.

Israel says the eight metre high -security fence- is a buffer against potential suicide attacks. The Israeli government has approved the building of 703 kilometres (436 miles) of wall snaking into the internationally recognised Palestinian territories.

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