Starmer’s spokesperson stated that the decision aligns with the government’s long standing stance that the court should determine its own jurisdiction.
Britain’s new government announced on Friday that it would abandon the previous administration’s request for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to clarify its jurisdiction over an arrest warrant for Israeli leaders, Reuters news agency reported.
In May, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on allegations of war crimes.
Similar warrants have been requested for three leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.
Previously, Britain, as an ICC member state, had inquired on whether the court could exercise jurisdiction over Israelis “in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords,” Reuters reported.
However, since the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has taken over from the Conservatives, the new government has decided to withdraw this query.
US Pressuring UK to Uphold Legal Challenge over ICC Arrest Warrants – Report
Starmer’s spokesperson stated that the decision aligns with the government’s long standing stance that the court should determine its own jurisdiction.
“The government believes very strongly in the rule of law, both internationally and domestically, and the separation of powers,” the spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
Since 2021, the ICC has been investigating alleged war crimes committed in occupied Palestine.
In that year, the ICC confirmed it had jurisdiction after Palestinian authorities joined the court in 2015 as a UN observer state.
US Pressures
Britain’s move came despite pressures from the United States not to drop the legal challenge.
According to a report by The Guardian, prominent human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson made the claim, warning that “giving into US pressure would be ‘the first big moral mistake’ of the premiership of Sir Keir Starmer.”
Robertson stressed that the US “is not a member of the ICC, and expects the UK to look after its interests there.”
ICC to Delay Arrest Warrants for Israeli, Hamas Leaders – What We Know So Far
In May, the previous government under Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak challenged the ICC on whether it had any jurisdiction to issue the arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Cowards of the world, Unite!
They’re all useless.