UK's Labour gets more time for Netanyahu arrest warrant appeal

The deadline for a bid by Britain to have arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and defence chief dismissed has been extended to allow the new Labour government to reconsider the move.

Britain's previous Conservative leaders had wanted to challenge the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Gaza, after the ICC issued the arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza

The UK government was originally given until Friday, July 12 to progress the claim but this deadline has now been extended to July 26 to allow Keir Starmer’s administration to review the legal challenge.

While the ICC ruled in 2021 that it had jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Palestine, last month it allowed Britain to make arguments on that point.

The UK’s position was that the Oslo Accords agreed between Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak from 1993 to 1995 did not allow Palestine to prosecute Israelis.

It is understood Washington has put pressure on the new government to continue with the legal challenge that was opposed by Labour when in opposition.

However, Labour officials are reported to have indicated their position has remained unchanged but the government has not confirmed whether the claim has been withdrawn.

A spokeswoman for the pro-Palestinian Stop the War Coalition told The National the significant losses of four Labour MPs to pro-Gaza candidates in last week's general election had “rattled Keir Starmer”, potentially influencing his decision in this case.

“Whether or not Starmer drops the UK’s bid to delay the ICC’s decision on issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, we will not stop pushing, not stop marching, not stop widening our anti-war movement until there is a permanent ceasefire, an end to arms sales to Israel and justice for the Palestinians,” she added.

Geoffrey Robertson, a human rights lawyer, has called Britain’s legal arguments “preposterous”, especially as the court was not established until 2002.

“The ICC was not even in existence in 1995 and the idea that a provisional clause in a moribund negotiation 30 years ago can prevent it from acting over breaches of international criminal law now is preposterous,” he told The Guardian.

It is understood that David Lammy, Britain’s new Foreign Secretary, will travel to the Middle East next week with Labour policies on recognising a Palestinian state and arms exports to Israel likely to come under scrutiny.

In a statement to The National, the Foreign Office quoted Mr Lammy's words to Reuters news agency. “We are very, very clear on the importance of the rule of law and importance of international humanitarian law," he said. "We've been clear about that from the beginning of this crisis. The issue of arrest warrants is a matter for the ICC prosecutor.”