LONDON July 26. 2024 (Saba) -The British government announced that it will not adopt the proposal of the previous government, headed by Rishi Sunak, to reject an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court.
British media quoted on Friday, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as saying: The latter took a decision not to follow up on the proposal of the previous government to object to the arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu, stressing that "the court is the one who decides.
Ahead of this decision, Yasmin Ahmed, director of Human Rights Watch in United Kingdom, said the new UK government should withdraw Rishi Sunak's legal challenge to the ICC's jurisdiction over alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
"It is important that United Kingdom do not continue to challenge the ICC's right to request arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant."
The American newspaper "The New York Times" said Thursday: "The previous Conservative government in Britain was almost in line with the United States in its response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Now under the new Labour government, Britain is moving away from its closest allies in this war. One such indication is the announcement by Foreign Minister David Lammy that the government has decided to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) postponed at the end of June its decision on whether to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant, after Britain filed an amicus curiae motion against the court's jurisdiction in the case.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the ICC agreed to London's request, and also allowed other countries to express their position on the case and gave it until July 12.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on May 20 asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Galant.
E.M
resource : Saba