Britain on Friday confirmed it was dropping plans to challenge the pursuit of an international warrant against Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the International Criminal Court, underscoring a shift in foreign policy under the country’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer.
The decision marks a divergence from U.S. policy on Israel, which the previous Conservative government had followed closely.
Two people briefed on the government’s deliberations told The New York Times earlier this week that Mr. Starmer would drop the previous government’s objections to the pursuit of warrants by the end of this week.
Downing Street said on Friday that Mr. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, had decided that Britain would not make a submission to the court as Mr. Sunak’s government had planned.
“This was a proposal by the previous government which was not submitted before the election, and which I can confirm the government will not be pursuing, in line with our longstanding position that this is a matter for the court to decide on,” said an official spokeswoman for Mr. Starmer.
“The government believes strongly in the rule of law and separation of powers,” she added.
In May, Karim Khan, the international criminal court prosecutor, announced he had applied for warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and for the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military operation in Gaza, including the starvation of civilians.
Mr. Khan simultaneously applied for warrants for three Hamas leaders, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mr. Sunak described the request for warrants against Israeli officials as “deeply unhelpful,” and a senior government minister, Andrew Mitchell, told Parliament: “We do not think that the I.C.C. has jurisdiction in this case.” In early June, the government applied to the international court for the right to submit objections, and was asked to submit its arguments by July 12. That deadline was extended until Friday after Mr. Sunak called a general election.
The decision not to intervene in the international court proceedings marks the second departure by the new British government from U.S. policy on Israel since Britain’s general election earlier this month.
Last week, David Lammy, Britain’s new foreign secretary, said he would restore funding to the main United Nations relief agency that aids the Palestinians, UNRWA.
The government is also reviewing whether to continue sales of weapons to Israel, a decision that will rest on official legal advice on whether Israel has broken international law in Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.K. welcomed the decision not to intervene in the I.C.C. case, describing it as a “significant step in aligning the U.K. with the rule of law.”
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