(NewsWorthy.news) – The United States is pressuring the United Kingdom’s newly elected Labour government to proceed with a legal challenge against the requests by the International Criminal Court for the arrests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the court’s requests for the arrest warrants for the two Israelis and Hamas leaders in May in connection with war crimes allegedly committed by both sides before and during the Gaza conflict.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has shown a wavering stance on the ICC’s recommendations. While in opposition, Starmer’s Labour Party opposed the case filed by the Conservative administration in May, and intended to drop the challenge after the general election. According to a US official, however, Starmer has since faced mounting pressure from the White House to block the arrest warrants.
The US and Israel are not members of the ICC, but Palestine joined as a member in 2015. The court stated in 2021 that it had the authority to investigate alleged war crimes in the region. The charges presented by Khan against Netanyahu and Gallant include murder, using starvation as a method of warfare and directing attacks towards civilian populations. The White House called the requested arrest warrants “outrageous”.
Much like US President Joe Biden, Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, faces the dilemma of leading a left-wing party divided on the Gaza conflict. Furthermore, though securing a landslide victory against the Conservative and Unionist Party in terms of seats, the Labour Party lost several seats to Pro-Palestine Independent candidates. Starmer stated in an interview in October 2023 that Israel was right to “defend itself” and cut off Gaza’s water and power supply.
Following Labour’s election victory, new Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict. The US pressure on the UK to challenge the ICC’s recommendation, which has been confirmed by UK human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson, came amidst the NATO Summit that was largely focused on the war in Ukraine. The UK has until July 26 to decide whether or not to pursue a legal challenge against the ICC. The amicus brief appeal started by the previous UK government notes that, according to the 1993 Oslo Accords that established the Palestinian National Authority, Palestine may not prosecute Israel for war crimes. Hamas has been just as critical of the ICC’s recommendations, however, accusing the court of conflating the aggressor with the victim.
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