UK drops plan to challenge ICC arrest warrant request for Netanyahu

The International Criminal Court is seen at the Hague, the Netherlands, in 2015. The UK government scratched plans to challenge the ICC’s arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The British government has dropped plans to oppose the International Criminal Court’s application for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, according to UK news agency PA Media..

“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,” said a spokeswoman for the UK’s new Labour government, which earlier this month replaced a Conservative government led by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced in May he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – including Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar – over charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court has no means of enforcement, however ICC members have an obligation to cooperate fully with its decisions. If the warrants are granted, Netanyahu and others could risk arrest when traveling to the 124 countries that are ICC members – including Germany and the United Kingdom.

The international court still must assess submissions from other powers before making a decision on whether to grant the request for arrest warrants.

Israel has faced significant criticism over the scale and force of its military the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, launched after the Hamas-led October 7 terror attacks, which killed at least 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others. After months of war, many Gazans are facing mass displacement, destruction, and bouts of famine; more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 90,403 people injured since the Israeli offensive began, according to the Ministry of Health in the Palestinian enclave.

The UK’s governing Labour party and its leader, former human rights lawyer Keir Starmer, have faced pressure from supporters to take a tougher stance on the Gaza war.

On Thursday, US Vice President Kamala Harris vowed “not to be silent” about human suffering in Gaza, speaking to reporters after her meeting with Netanyahu in Washington. The White House has also faced increasing pressure to ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians under bombardment, which has included the use of US munitions.

Israel and the United States are not members of the ICC. However, the ICC claims jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank after Palestinian leaders formally agreed to be bound by the court’s founding principles in 2015.

The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict,” Khan told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in May.

“The fact that Hamas fighters need water doesn’t justify denying water from all the civilian population of Gaza,” he added.

Israeli lawmakers have vehemently condemned the application, with Netanyahu calling the decision “a political outrage.” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said the announcement was “beyond outrageous.”