UK Government drops Tories’ plan to challenge ICC over Netanyahu arrest warrant
Labour has dropped the previous Tory government’s plan to challenge the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, Downing Street has said.
A No 10 spokeswoman confirmed that the Government will not submit an objection.
“This was a proposal by the previous government which was not submitted before the election, and which I can confirm the Government will not be pursuing in line with our long standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide on,” the spokeswoman said.
She noted that the Government believes very strongly in the separation of powers and the rule of law domestically and internationally.
“I think you would note that the courts have already received a number of submissions on either side, so they are well seized of the arguments to make their independent determinations,” she said.
Arrest warrants
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Mr Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Rishi Sunak’s government had told the ICC it intended to submit arguments questioning whether the ICC had the right to order the arrest of Israeli nationals.
The Hague-based war crimes court gave the UK until Friday to decide whether it would do so.
The conflict in Gaza has been a thorn in the Labour leader’s side, with his initial refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire costing the party votes and seats in the General Election despite its landslide.
Former MP Jonathan Ashworth was one of several Labour candidates defeated by independents who made Gaza a major part of their campaign.
Since entering Government, Labour has restored funding to the United Nations’ Palestine relief agency UNRWA, in a major shift from the stance of the previous government which had suspended funding in January.
Sir Keir has also stressed that a Palestinian state has an “undeniable right” to be recognised as part of a Middle East peace process.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said: “This was a totally misguided intervention by the last government and we strongly welcome the decision to drop it.
“Instead of trying to thwart the ICC’s much-needed Palestine investigation, the UK should be backing efforts to bring all perpetrators of war crimes and possible genocide to justice.”
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And so Labour should. Remember Iraq anyone? Do they have a conscience prang? Perhaps, but unlikely. Got to have a heart for that. Anyway, Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal responsible for mass murder of nearly 37,000 innocient Palestinian civilians , 17,000 that are children, and is cynically using October 7th and Hamas as a smokescreen to wipe off the map and ethically cleanse Gaza Strip Palestinians in his ambition of a greater Israel. Then the West Bank is next on his to destroy list. Look what he’s done recently. Gave the greenlight for another large settlement to get… Read more »
‘Netanyahu is a war criminal responsible for mass murder of nearly 37,000 innocent Palestinian civilians , 17,000 that are children, and is cynically using October 7th and Hamas as a smokescreen …’ Personally I’m struck by comparison with how the UK responded to the Provisional IRA during the long years of ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland. If at the height of IRA violence the UK had adopted the Netanyahu government’s current strategy, the Divis flats in west Belfast would have been shelled into rubble and Derry’s Bogside would have been bombed into oblivion. Even in the glory days of Thatcher… Read more »
Well said. And the irony is. America, again involved in mediating in Northern Ireland as they are still with the Israeli/Palestine conflict, did nothing to stop the IRA terrorism. In fact, numerous US presidents turned a blind eye for decades, even inviting known terrorists including members of the political wing of the IRA to the Whitehouse to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, until 911 occured when they experienced terrorism at its worse when in New York, a stronghold of Irish Americans, was attacked by Al-Qaeda with the traffic loss of 2996 souls when two planes were flown into the World Trade… Read more »
I grew up within about five miles of what has become Manchester airport, though back in my childhood years in the ’50s it was then always locally known as Ringway, the Cheshire village in which it was situated and which by now it’s almost completely engulfed. I recall going on a school trip to visit the airport when I was in the sixth form, though of course it was much smaller then. So what’s recently happened there has a personal resonance for me; though from what I’ve heard thus far the details underlying the incident still seem to be fairly… Read more »
The Republicans of the United States of America have just provided a stage in their Congress (filled up with rent a crowd to take the seats of absent boycotting Democrats) for their bogus hero, the current Prime Minister of Israel, to spout his neck saving distortion of the truth to repeated applause. Nauseating. He has been accommodated and will be allowed to leave there a free man. Disgraceful. I am, however, proud, relieved and ecstatic that this threat to his own people and many more throughout the world will not get the opportunity to repeat this insult on this island… Read more »