British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said Friday that the U.K. will not interfere with the International Criminal Court’s request for an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The announcement is a reversal of plans announced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was ousted earlier this month when Starmer’s Labour Party swept Conservatives from office in a landslide.
“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 long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide,” a Starmer spokesperson said.
Starmer’s decision puts the U.K. at odds with America, though his office on Friday described the decision as based in a strong belief in the separation of powers and the rule of law domestically and internationally.
The issue is a tricky one for Starmer and his party.
Starmer recently restored funding for the United Nations’ Palestine relief agency UNRWA, which had been suspended by Sunak’s government in January.
He has also said the Palestinian state has an “undeniable right” to be recognized as part of a peace process.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International U.K.’s chief executive applauded Starmer’s decision not to challenge the action at the Hague court.
“This was a totally misguided intervention by the last government,” Deshmukh said. “Instead of trying to thwart the ICC’s much-needed Palestine investigation, the U.K. should be backing efforts to bring all perpetrators of war crimes and possible genocide to justice.”
