UK's Labour 'backtracks' on decision to drop objection to ICC arrest warrants
Britain will not withdraw its objection to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's application for arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, according to an Israeli news outlet.
The newspaper Maariv said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy had given assurances that the UK will maintain its objection to the application that was initially raised by the Conservative government in Downing Street.
Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.
The Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, its military wing's commander-in-chief Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, and its political leader Ismail Haniyeh were also subject to arrest warrant applications.
The applications must be approved by a panel of ICC judges and it is at this stage that the UK has lodged its objection.
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According to the British government, the 1993 Oslo Accords that created the Palestinian National Authority prevents Palestine from prosecuting Israelis for war crimes.
The argument has been critiqued as flimsy by legal scholars. Palestine was accepted into the ICC in 2015, and in 2021 the court said it had the power to investigate war crimes in the occupied territories.
Earlier this month, the Guardian reported that Labour government would drop its attempt to delay the ICC's decision.
The report by Maariv came after reports last week that the US was lobbying the Labour government to not to drop the legal challenge.
If the Maariv report is confirmed, it would suggest those lobbying efforts have been successful.
Lammy met Netanyahu over the weekend and called for a ceasefire, as well a return of hostages held by Hamas.
Middle East Eye has asked the Foreign Office for comment.
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