Netanyahu arrest warrant: New UK government drops challenge to court

Britain's new government said on Friday it was dropping its predecessor's query of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisdiction to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The ICC's chief prosecutor has requested warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on suspicion of war crimes, infuriating Israel and irritating its closest ally, the United States.

He requested similar warrants for three leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Britain, an ICC member state, had asked the court for observations on whether it could exercise jurisdiction over Israelis "in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords."

But since then, the center-left Labour Party has taken power from the Conservatives in an election, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson told reporters the new government would drop the query "in line with our long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide on."

"The government believes very strongly in the rule of law, both internationally and domestically, and the separation of powers."

While the Conservatives frequently chafed against supranational jurisdictions during their 14 years in power, not least the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, Starmer, a former lawyer, has struck a different tone.

Reuters