LONDON: The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has expressed its disappointment about reports that the UK would retain its objections against arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan in May said he was seeking arrest warrants for the two Israeli leaders, as well as Hamas after an investigation into the Gaza war earlier this year.
“The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is disappointed in the UK government’s rumoured decision to shy away from taking a lead on equal application of international law without fear or favour,” the organisation said.
The ICJP added that the development comes days after it had sent a letter to the UK foreign ministry recommending policy issues the new Labour government should focus on.
The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is allegedly being lobbied by the US to pursue the previous Conservative’s challenge to the ICC arrest warrants.
The ICJP said that UK foreign policy must not be influenced by the US and that the ICC should be free from the pressure of foreign states.
The ICJP’s Senior Public Affairs Officer Jonathan Purcell said the British government’s indecisiveness was undermining its position.
“It shows a total lack of urgency whilst Palestinians are being killed in the meantime,” he added. “If Labour wants to be taken seriously as a party of change, we need to see it to believe it. The Prime Minister calls himself a human rights lawyer, but a major U-turn such as this would show that actions speak louder than words,” he said.
The ICJP made the call after Israeli media reported that UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had assured Israel that the UK would keep its objections against the arrest warrants.
Israel’s relentless bombardment has killed 38,664 Palestinians in Gaza most of them women and children, and wounded a further 98,097. The Palestinian territory enclave has been completely devastated, while Israel’s siege of Gaza has created famine-like conditions.
