UK will not pursue ICC challenge over Israeli PM Netanyahu arrest warrant

The UK would 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.

In May, the ICC’s prosecutor had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.

Court documents released in June revealed that Britain, an ICC member state, had sought 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.”

Since then, Britain has elected a new government run by the Labour Party, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the previous government had not submitted its proposal before the July 4 election.

”On the ICC submission… I can confirm the government will not be pursuing (the proposal) in line with our long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide on,” the spokesperson told reporters.

The ICC is the world’s first permanent international war crimes court. It 124 member states are obliged to immediately arrest the wanted person if they are on a member state’s territory.
A court of last resort, the ICC steps in only when a state is unwilling or genuinely unable to do so itself.

Israel has said alleged war crimes in Gaza are being investigated domestically.
Israel and its main ally the United States are not members of the ICC, along with China and Russia.
Member states have in the past failed to hand over suspects who entered their territory, including Sudanese former President Omar Bashir, wanted since 2005 for war crimes and genocide.
But if warrants are issued against Israeli leaders, court members including nearly all European Union countries could be put in a diplomatically difficult position.

With inputs from agencies.