Independent Alliance of MPs drags Starmer over the ICC Netanyahu arrest warrant

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel‘s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. In response, the Independent Alliance of MPs has written to Labour Party prime minister Keir Starmer. It insisted that this must be a turning point, and that Starmer’s government should finally end its “shameful indifference to endless violations of international humanitarian law”.

Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed asked Starmer if his government plans to comply with the ICC ruling, highlighting that this is now Britain’s obligation “as a signatory to the ICC”. They also emphasised:

You must immediately welcome the ICC’s arrest warrants and lay out how you will assist them in enforcing their order. Amidst the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, that is the bare minimum.

And they added:

Ultimately, you must decide: are you on the side of Israeli impunity or international law?

Starmer must apologise, and end all arms sales

The ICC found that there were “reasonable grounds” to accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of responsibility for “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” and “intentionally and knowingly [depriving] the civilian population” of essential items like water, food, electricity, and medicine.

In light of the ICC decision, the Independent Alliance MPs insisted:

There is no ambiguity here: the UK’s continued supply of arms to Israel means the government is aiding and abetting war crimes. When will the government honour its obligations under the Geneva Convention to prevent genocide, and end all arms sales to Israel?

They also asked Starmer to apologise for his suggestion in October 2023 that Israel ‘had the right’ to cut off water and power to Gaza. His team previously tried to backpedal and argue that he was responding to another question.

In light of the ICC issuing arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Secretary, today, the Independence Alliance writes to the Prime Minister to ask what steps his government will now take to comply with international humanitarian law. pic.twitter.com/dIxFzYqilc

— Adnan Hussain MP (@AdnanHussainMP) November 21, 2024