US envoy suggests UK's Starmer would not respect ICC Israel arrest warrants
The US ambassador to the UK has suggested that Labour leader Keir Starmer would not honour the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ICC announced on 20 May that it is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, on the grounds of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Supporters of Israel and Netanyahu, including US President Joe Biden and the UK's ruling Conservative Party, have responded to the announcement with outrage.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has dismissed the move as "deeply unhelpful". The opposition Labour Party has meanwhile backed the ICC's decision, but Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has refused to say whether he would enforce the court's decision against Netanyahu.
While his shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, defended the court last week, saying the UK has a legal obligation to comply with a warrant if issued, US ambassador to the UK Jane Hartley noted: "But I don't think Keir Starmer has said that, has he?"
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Hartley indicated that the Biden administration supported Starmer's stance on the ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
"Keir Starmer has been very thoughtful in his approach to this. He's communicating with our government and this is a difficult issue," the ambassador said in an interview with Politico.
"I mean, it's a difficult issue for President Biden also, but I think what I've seen come out of Labour is pretty consistent with what the US policy is."
Netanyahu and Gallant face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges over the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare; wilfully causing great suffering; wilful killing; intentional attacks on a civilian population and extermination, alongside several other charges.
The move is the most significant diplomatic setback for Israel in decades. The application for arrest warrants will be submitted to a panel of judges at the ICC, who will then decide whether to issue them.
Earlier in the war, there was consensus among Labour and the Conservatives to back Israel in the conflict.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, backed Israel's decision to cut off food, water and other essentials to Gaza's population.
However, as the war progressed, Labour called for a humanitarian ceasefire and began to backtrack from its previous strong support of Israel.
That has coincided with a drop in support among traditionally Labour-backing constituencies, such as the British Muslim community.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 36,300 Palestinians, the majority women and children, and destroyed vast swaths of the besieged enclave since 7 October.
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