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The new UK government will not challenge an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Friday.
Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has said it intends to challenge prosecutor Karim Khan's request in May to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Britain had until Friday to make the request, but the newly elected Labor Government has confirmed it will not go ahead with Sunak's plans.
"This was a proposal of the previous Government, and the request was not submitted before the elections, and I can confirm that the Government will not advance these plans, as the decision belongs to the court", said a spokeswoman of the British Government.
Labour, led by Keir Starmer, came to power on July 4, defeating the Conservatives in the general election.
Since then, the new government has resumed allocating funds to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees, for which Sunak had stopped funding, since there were allegations that its members participated in the October 7 attack against Israel.
Militants from Hamas - the Palestinian group that rules Gaza, designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union - have carried out attacks in southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and taking around 240 hostages.
About 116 hostages are believed to be still in Gaza, including 42 that the Israeli military believes have been killed.
Israel then launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas.
As a result of Israel's ground and air offensive in that region, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, Palestinian health authorities report.
Labor wants an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza, as well as the release of hostages.
The United States, Israel's main ally, is expected to challenge the ICC authorities to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan is also seeking arrest warrants against key Hamas leaders, such as Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If the request is approved, each of the 124 member states of the ICC is obligated to arrest Netanyahu and others if they travel to those territories.
However, the Court does not have any mechanism to force them to implement the decision./ REL
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