UK government drops challenge to ICC over Israel arrest warrants

The UK government will drop its challenge to arrest warrants sought by an ICC prosecutor for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Downing Street confirmed on Friday 26 July.

UK government drops challenge to ICC over Israel

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government had told the International Criminal Court (ICC) it intended to submit a challenge to prosecutor Karim Khan’s request in May for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The UK had until 26 July to submit its questions to the court in The Hague, but the recently elected Labour Party government has confirmed it will not follow through with Sunak’s plan.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said:

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.

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.

Of course, Israel’s top ally the US is still set to challenge the court’s authority to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu.

As well as Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan is also seeking warrants against top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

If granted by ICC judges, any of the 124 ICC member states would technically be obliged to arrest Netanyahu and others if they travelled there. However, the court has no mechanism to enforce its orders.

More to be done

The UK is still allowing arms to be sold to Israel. However, Middle East Eye reported on 25 July that the government was expected to place some restrictions on sales.

However, right-wing lobby group the British Board of Deputies hit back. It said:

We are concerned that the cumulative effect of these announcements, in quick succession, signal a significant shift in policy, away from Israel being a key UK ally. This would not only be a strategic error but a moral one.

Reacting to Labour’s ICC decision, director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ben Jamal said:

Ben Jamal, PSC Director said,

We welcome the Government’s decision to drop the intervention mounted by Rishi Sunak’s Government, designed to prevent any move by the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders including Benjamin Netanyahu.

This intervention was based on spurious legal arguments that amounted to suggesting that Israeli leaders could never be held to account by the ICC for any action in Gaza, no matter how monstrous.

We thank all of those who lobbied the Foreign Secretary and MPs on this issue, including thousands who signed PSC’s e-action. We welcome the Government’s statement that it intends to fully respect the independence of the international courts and the rule of law.

Going forward this needs to translate into full support for the rulings of the ICC and the ICJ including those which call upon all third-party states not to continue to act in any way which risks aiding or abetting crimes under the Genocide Convention or supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

As immediate first steps this requires an arms embargo and ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

Featured image via the House of Commons and the Canary