Labour is “looking at” the previous Tory government’s objection to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, Downing Street has said.
No 10 did not confirm or deny reports that Sir Keir Starmer is expected to drop any legal challenge to the ICC’s pursuit of an arrest warrant against the Israeli premier for alleged war crimes against Palestinians by the end of the week.
But a No 10 spokeswoman reiterated the party’s emphasis on the independence of the Hague-based war crimes court and its chief prosecutor.
She also said “we reject the overall characterisation” in a New York Times article noting the UK would be edging away from its close ally the US on the conflict were it to ditch an appeal contesting the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli citizens.
The spokeswoman told reporters: “We reject the overall characterisation in that piece. The Government has been clear about Israel’s right to self-defence and its right to respond to a terror attack in line with international humanitarian law.
“We’ve been in lockstep with the US on this matter and also in our efforts with the US and other allies in terms of promoting regional stability.”
The newspaper’s report is titled “UK’s Policy on Israel, Long Aligned With America’s, Veers Away”, after the ICC’s efforts to seek arrest warrants against top Israeli leaders have been widely denounced in Washington.
The Downing Street spokeswoman continued: “On the ICC, we’ve also spoken consistently about the importance of the independence of both the prosecutor and the court. It is for the prosecutor and the court to make a decision.
“Now, with regard to the previous government’s proposals around a submission, we are looking at that but I don’t have any further updates.”
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Mr Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Rishi Sunak’s government had told the ICC it intended to submit arguments questioning whether the ICC had the right to order the arrest of Israeli nationals.
The ICC has given the Labour Government until Friday to decide whether to pursue the legal bid.
The conflict in Gaza has been a thorn in the Labour leader’s side, with his initial refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire costing the party votes and seats in the General Election despite its landslide.
Former MP Jonathan Ashworth was one of several Labour candidates defeated by Independents who made Gaza a major part of their campaign.
Since entering Government, Labour has restored funding to the United Nations’ Palestine relief agency UNRWA, in a major shift from the stance of the previous government which had suspended funding in January.
Sir Keir has also stressed that a Palestinian state has an “undeniable right” to be recognised as part of a Middle East peace process.
Nine-months into the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has left more than 39,000 dead in Gaza while dozens of Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity, Mr Netanyahu vowed to press on with the war until “total victory” in a speech in Washington on Wednesday.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said: “Instead of trying to thwart the ICC’s much-needed Palestine investigation, the UK should be backing efforts to bring all perpetrators of war crimes and possible genocide to justice.
“The UK should support the ICC in its role to investigate and then hold all perpetrators of war crimes and possible genocide to account.”
