Jeremy Corbyn and a group of fellow Independent MPs have demanded the Government drop any legal challenge to the International Criminal Court’s application for an arrest warrant against Israel’s premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
The five MPs have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy with a series of demands over Gaza.
These also include suspending all provision of weapons to Israel; restoring UK funding to the Palestinian relief works agency Unrwa; advocating for an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal; imposing sanctions on individuals and entities “inciting genocide against Palestinians”; and immediately recognising the state of Palestine.
I have joined other independent MPs in writing to the Foreign Secretary, reminding him of the government's obligations under international law.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 15, 2024
That involves dropping any legal challenge over the ICC's application for an arrest warrant of Israeli's PM Benjamin Netanyahu. pic.twitter.com/Fz4WyIXQTe
The ICC chief prosecutor said in May he was applying for arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu along with defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
Then prime minister Rishi Sunak branded the move a “deeply unhelpful development”, as he insisted there is no moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel’s government.
Karim Khan, the British chief prosecutor of the ICC, claimed the leaders are responsible for war crimes in Gaza and Israel.
Mr Khan, a KC specialising in international human rights law who was elected to his ICC position in February 2021, accused Israel of using “starvation as a method of warfare” and carrying out “collective punishment” of the population of Gaza.
Regarding the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, he said the terrorist actions were “unconscionable crimes” that “demand accountability”.
A report by a panel of international law experts, convened by the ICC prosecutor, agreed that the ICC has “jurisdiction in relation to crimes committed on the territory of Palestine, including Gaza, since 13 June 2014” under Article 12 of the Rome Statute.
