NewStats: 3,262,582 , 8,177,579 topics. Date: Monday, 02 June 2025 at 08:42 PM 531o46

The UK government has dropped plans to challenge the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In May, the chief prosecutor of the ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The previous Conservative UK government had indicated it planned to make a submission to the court, but had not done so before the election.

Now, a spokesperson for the new Labour government has said it will not be making a submission, saying it is "a matter for the court

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "I think you would note that the courts have already received a number of submissions on either side, so they are well seized of the arguments to make their independent determinations."

In addition to Benjamin Netanyahu, the ICC's chief prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Should the ICC proceed with the arrest warrants, the possibility could arise that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant would be asked not to set foot on British soil, to avoid being arrested by the UK authorities

The court has already authorised 70 similar submissions from other countries on the subject and is currently working through them.

Prof Yuval Shany, an expert on international law at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, predicts it will take until the autumn for the court to look at all the submissions and give the prosecutor time to respond if necessary.

Asked if the UK's decision would make any difference, he said: “Of course, the fact that a major country such as the UK has decided in the end not to submit is something that the judges will take note of.

“But the court still has to undertake the legal analysis regarding the questions that the previous [UK] government wanted to raise.”

He says the decision gives an indication of how the UK would react if the ICC were to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant.

“It would be difficult for the UK government, after deferring to the court… to simply shirk off and say I’m not going to implement it.”

A key issue at stake is whether the ICC can exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, in circumstances where the Palestinian Authority can not exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the of the Oslo Accords - a peace agreement in 1993.

In 2021, one of three ICC judges ruled the court could not exercise jurisdiction over Israelis, while two others ruled that this could be decided at a later stage.

Ahead of the UK's announcement, media outlets in Israel quoted a senior official as saying such a UK decision not to make a submission would be "fundamentally wrong", adding that it “distorts justice and truth, and violates the right of all democracies to fight terrorism".

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK's chief executive, welcomed the UK's decision, calling the previous government's plan "totally misguided".

"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 war in Gaza has proved to be politically tricky for Labour, with its stance upsetting many of its traditional ers, particularly in the Muslim community.

In the recent general election, shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth lost his Leicester South seat to a strongly pro-Gaza candidate, while other senior party figures including Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips saw their majorities slashed.

Last week the government announced it was restoring funding to Unrwa, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees.

The UK had previously halted donations after Israel alleged 12 Unrwa staff were involved in the October 2023 attacks by Hamas.

An internal UN investigation into allegations related to that attack is ongoing.

But a separate UN review, published in April, found Israel had not provided evidence for its claims hundreds of Unrwa staff were of terror groups.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckkg525l93lo

Great move from Keir Starmer

starmer come worse sunak

Obedient are pained right now

Keep talking,Israel will keep acting…terrorists should never be shown mercy!!

I could swear that I have seen this before

Labour government usually s Palestine, they've always shown it somehow. Is Tories who will always Israel.

In fact if Corbyn was party leader and prime minister today, UK might SA to drag Israel before ICC

Uk and waaar + playing peace keeper = 5&6

Anyways, I will build any website of your choice for you at an affordable price.
Let’s work together

The have not arresting the Palestinian terrorist often going to look for Israel trouble, it is the PM they are after? You dey mad ni?

Hmmmm


Vawulence always


No peace

If it was anAfrican leader now...icc would have been flirting its powers by now they would have overthrown him and cause chaose in the country.....now dats its a white person u see dem speaking softly even trying to by justice....this people and there double standards....


We all know there was definitely war crimes there but we know the wont do nothing to that Jewish man....

It just makes me wonder what do this people really want from us

Fineman2:


https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckkg525l93lo

Labour Party's Keir is scared of being booted out.

Under his leadership of Labour, Labour ed Israel's war against Palestine and for that his decision, his party lost their traditional strongholds to pro-Palestinian candidates and Corbyn is being proven right with the huge number of civilian casualties in the ongoing Isreal genocide in Gaza but Corbyn was unjustly labeled as antisemitic then. I see Corbyn coming back to lead Labour if Keir is not careful.

All Corbyn needs is to form alliance with few Labour House of Commons to upstage Keir.
Check my signature for free stuffs!

Wonderful warrant.
Wonderful arrest.
Wonderful drop.

Ejehhhh:
Obedient are pained right now

u will foreevr be an ODE like ur name na Edehhh

Fineman2:
Great move from Keir Starmer

Won't stop Hamas terrorists from collecting wotowoto.

Ejehhhh:
Obedient are pained right now

How?
U didnt give us d real details how u escapes from USELU in benin-city

Racoon:
The have not arresting the Palestinian terrorist often going to look for Israel trouble, it is the PM they are after? You dey mad ni?

With most of your comments on Nigerian issues, I thought you were a reasonable person.

Unperturbedpota DatniggaDaz cyndypresh skooltynz how una dey prepare for the protest? Make una go sleep... No protest in Nigeria except Biafruad land...

For the world to have peace, Satanyahu must be arrested

American puppet

Hmm

UstazAhmed:
For the world to have peace, Satanyahu must be arrested

😂
One particular religion has and is unleashing terror all over the world in perfect imitation of their so called exemplar. Look for the list of major terrorists groups, you'll conclude that such religion needs to end to the sake of so called world peace

UstazAhmed:
For the world to have peace, Satanyahu must be arrested

Hamas and other radical Islam groups must be nipped in the bud for there to be world peace


There are too many these days
Just live in accordance to civilised ways, una no go gree

If ICC think say e strong, make e go arrest Putin. How many times have they put warrant on him. Ndi ara

Nethayahu has committed war crimes.

For the world to have equity of justice, he suppose to be arrested, prosecuted and jail just like what they did to his types before.

Ejehhhh:
Obedient are pained right now

Yes. Obidients are pained and you are typing from your private jet. Delusional people everywhere

Colonial Criminals

Benjamin Netanyahu has turned himself into a laughing stock both inside Israel and internationally.

Just see as the new PM of UK has just rubbished him the same way Biden, Harris, and even Trump have expressed their disappointment in Netanyahu.

they should arrest putin first

Thewrath:
Keep talking,Israel will keep acting…terrorists should never be shown mercy!!

You've brainwashed fully to the extend that the world called them terrorits and you call them saint

UstazAhmed:
For the world to have peace, Satanyahu must be arrested

Mark my word, even without his arrest oneday Isreal must go down. Insha Allahu