Palestine hails decision by UK to drop objection to ICC war-crime warrant for Netanyahu

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed the decision by the British government to withdraw its objection to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In a statement cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the ministry described the British government decision as a "realization of justice."

It also hailed the UK decision to uphold human rights and international law and a human rights-first foreign policy, affirming that such position will enhance cooperation between Palestine and the UK in the coming days.

The UK on Friday said that it would not proceed with efforts to question whether the ICC has jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, according to local media.

This decision came after the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced in May that he had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over war crimes.

Court documents made public in June revealed that Britain, an ICC member state, had initially filed a request to provide written observations on whether the court could exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, given that Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the Oslo Accords.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson confirmed that the previous government had not submitted its proposal before the July 4 election.

"On the ICC submission… I can confirm the government will not be pursuing (the proposal) in line with our longstanding position that this is a matter for the court to decide on," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson told reporters.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.