UK government drops its challenge to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders
Board and JLC express concern after spokesperson for Keir Starmer confirms ICC case 'is a matter for the court to decide on'
The UK government will not proceed with efforts to question whether the international criminal court (ICC) has jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the UK will withdraw from the previous government’s proposed objection to the ICC chief prosecutor’s request in May for arrest warrants for the two Israeli leaders and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
“On the ICC submission … I can confirm the government will not be pursuing (the proposal) in line with our longstanding position that this is a matter for the court to decide on,” the spokesperson told reporters.
But the anouncement was immediately criticised by the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council who also pointed to the recent decision to retore UK funding to UNRWA.
They 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.”
The communal organisations also added “many in the Jewish community are still assessing how this government will in practice stand by its words in opposition to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Starmer’s spokesperson added the decision on whether or not to issue the warrants is now for the ICC to make.
The move, confirmed on Friday on the advice of new attorney general Richard Hermer KC, will signal the Labour government’s view that the ICC should have the jurisdiction to make decisions and judgements.
Court documents made public in June showed Britain, an ICC member state, had filed a request with the court to provide written observations on whether “the court can exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo accords”.
But Starmer’s spokesperson said the previous government had not submitted its proposal before the 4 July election.
The decision is unlikely to speed up any war crime case against Netanyahu, as other countries file arguments in the case from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli perspectives.
It will though signify a tougher stance by the government against Israeli diplomatic efforts to secure support from the UK.
It also is likely to anger some of the main communal organisations in the UK.
Keir Starmer has made it clear he wants the UK to play its part at the highest level in forging new peace efforts in the Middle East, but he and foreign secretary David Lammy believe the country’s image as an “honest broker” needs strengthening.
In May, Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, announced he was applying for arrest warrant targeting Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister over the war in Gaza, along with Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh for the October 7 terrorist attacks.
The previous prime minister Rishi Sunak issued a legal challenge questioning the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli citizens – a move that was supported by Israeli diplomats here.
Jewish News was told by a seperate source on Thursday that a decision had been taken to move away from the previous government’s stance.
But the source added:”Withdrawing the previous government’s objection to the ICC prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza is not a judgement on case for or against the Israeli PM.
“It’s a sign the UK government recognises the Court’s power to make legal decisions”
In their joint statement the Board and JLC also raised concerns about reports suggesting the Labour government would be making an announcement over arms sales to Israel.
In a column for the Jewish Chronicle, the Tory peer Danny Finklestein noted that a Starmer government could well take positions on Israel that do not meet the approval of all mainstream Jews.
“We will have to have a nuanced public debate within the community and with the government in which not all mainstream Jews take the same position and in which we accept that the government will criticise, or even act against, Israel without being opposed to its existence,” he wrote.
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