After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the United Kingdom's Labour government for its stance on Israel, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy responded in an interview with Maariv on Thursday.
In a Wednesday interview with the Daily Mail, Netanyahu attacked the Labour government's policy and claimed, "They say that Israel has the right to defend itself, but they undermine our ability to exercise that right. The current government is sending mixed messages."
The Ministry responded to Maariv: "We raised concerns regarding the conduct in accordance with international humanitarian law for months. They were not addressed." However, he clarified, "We remain friends of Israel."
"We made it clear that taking military action as part of Israel's legitimate right to self-defense must be done under international humanitarian law. Britain and other allies have raised concerns about these issues for many months. Unfortunately, these concerns were not adequately addressed."
"The priorities of the current government remain to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages, the protection of civilians, and the flow of humanitarian aid," the ministry told Maariv.
"As the foreign minister said in his speech, we remain friends of Israel. We are committed to Israel's right to exist and defend itself in accordance with international humanitarian law and for the Israeli people to live safely within safe borders," they continued.
"However, in self-defense, Israel must act in accordance with international law. It is essential that we preserve these laws as the basis of the rules-based international order."
ICC uncontested
Netanyahu also attacked the British government over British Prime Minister Kier Starmer's decision not to contest the ICC's expected arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes allegedly committed during the war in Gaza.
"If the arrest warrants are issued against the leaders of the only democracy in the Middle East, it will compromise the ability of all democracies in the world to fight terrorism, including Britain," Netanyahu told the Daily Mail.
"For the ICC prosecutor to falsely accuse the leader of Israel of deliberate starvation and deliberately targeting civilians is an outrageous slander that can’t be explained by anything other than antisemitism and will forever stain the ICC’s reputation," he continued.
Concluding, he said, "The principle is simple: justice for all nations except the Jews."