Report: UK to drop opposition to ICC arrest warrants against Gallant, Netanyahu
Move, which comes after Westminster restored funding to UNRWA, could be announced by week’s end, in latest break with US over Gaza war; Starmer’s new AG opposes anti-BDS measures
The United Kingdom’s new Labour government will likely withdraw its objection to the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing two people briefed on Westminster’s deliberations.
The sources said the UK government is expected to announce the move by the end of the week. It could potentially help the standing of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer among pro-Palestinian activists angered by his support of Israel and his work to purge his party of antisemitism.
According to the New York Times, the announcement will be the UK’s latest break with the United States over support for Israel amid the war with Hamas in Gaza.
On Friday, British Foreign Minister David Lammy said that Britain would restore funding for UNRWA, the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, which Israel has accused of aiding and abetting Hamas.
Meanwhile, the Labour government’s new attorney general has expressed opposition to the previous government’s planned ban on local initiatives to boycott Israel.
The US House has passed a bill to sanction top ICC officials for the request to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant, but the legislation hasn’t been approved by the Senate and isn’t expected to pass into law. Washington has continued to withhold funds from UNRWA, and enacted legislation banning boycotts of Israel.
In May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed a request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant along with three Hamas leaders — Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif — due to crimes he alleged had been committed during the terror group’s October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.
The attack saw thousands of Hamas-led terrorists storm southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Rishi Sunak, Britain’s Conservative prime minister at the time, deemed Khan’s appeal for arrest warrants against the Israeli officials “deeply unhelpful.” In June, the court accepted the Sunak government’s request to file an amicus brief on behalf of Israel.
By contrast, Starmer, the UK’s then-opposition leader, said that “the court should be able to come to its decision in due course. I support the court and I support international law.”
Lammy, who on July 16 wrapped up a three-day visit to the region, on Friday announced that Westminster was restoring funding to UNRWA. The UK had defunded the agency amid Israel’s allegations against it in February.
While acknowledging that he was “appalled” by allegations that UNRWA staff had taken part in the October 7 attack, Lammy said he was satisfied that the agency had taken steps to ensure it has the “highest standards of neutrality.”
Meanwhile, Starmer has named his former colleague, human rights lawyer Richard Hermer, as attorney general. Hermer would need to sign off on any British legal intervention in the ICC, the Times said.
According to the Times, Hermer has advised Labour to oppose its Conservative opponents’ bid to ban local authorities from boycotting Israel. Hermer, who the Times said is Jewish and supports Jewish causes, has argued that such bans infringe on free speech.
Starmer has lost support in his North London constituency to a challenger who criticized his pro-Israel stance. Despite routing the Conservatives in the July 4 election, Labour has lost support among Muslim and left-wing voters for supporting Israel. According to the Times, Starmer’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza did not come soon enough for those voters.
Starmer, whose wife and children are Jewish, has identified as a Zionist in the past. He has also ousted Labour members accused of antisemitism, including his predecessor in the leadership, Jeremy Corbyn.
