The United Kingdom is acting against justice and truth by dropping its objection to the ICC proceedings against the Jewish state, a senior Israeli official said.
“Israel is deeply disappointed by this,” the official stated. “This is a fundamentally wrong decision” that is “contrary to justice and truth and violates the right of all democracies to fight terrorists.”British Attorney-General Richard Simon Hermer visited Israel on Thursday to personally explain the government’s position on this with his counterparts here, British embassy sources told The Jerusalem Post.
“He confirmed our commitment to Israel and Israel’s security in all his conversations,” the sources said.A Downing Street spokesperson told reporters, “I can confirm the government will not be pursuing [the proposal] in line with our longstanding position that this is a matter for the court to decide on.”
Britain’s previous Conservative party-led government had filed a request to the ICC on June 27, asking permission to file an amicus brief on jurisdiction issues. It wanted to comment on whether the ICC could “exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords.”The UK turned to the ICC after the court’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, asked the pre-trial chamber at The Hague to issue arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.The court had given the UK until July 26 to file its comments, but there had been speculation that the newly elected Labour government would take a different stance than that of its predecessors.Israel has argued that a war crimes suit against its leaders, particularly in the aftermath of the Hamas-led October 7 invasion of southern Israel, would strip the country of its right to self-defense and that other democracies fighting against non-state actors would find themselves in similar situations..
Not pursuing the challenge
British embassy sources downplayed the significance of the UK’s decision not to submit an amicus brief, explaining that it was “a technical and purely legal decision based on independent legal advice. It is not a political decision.”“This decision does not signal a change in the British government’s policy toward Israel or in any way change the UK’s commitment to Israel’s security. Remember that the Royal Air Force took part in the operation to defend Israel on April 13, when Iran attacked Israel,” the sources stated.“We reject completely any suggestion of equivalence between Israel and Hamas,” the sources underlined, stressing that it was a priority for Downing Street to “see an immediate deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.”Reuters contributed to this report.