Focus Turns to UK Arms Sales to Israel After ICC Reversal

UK withdraws opposition to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu, prompting calls to end arms sales to Israel amidst concerns over ICC's jurisdiction and potential strain on UK-Israel relations

In the UK, the government has withdrawn its opposition to the arrest warrant request for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Supporters of that decision are hoping that London will now turn its focus to stopping arms sales to his country.

The new British government, led by the Labour Party, won a landslide victory in the UK’s July 4 election, announced last week that it was no longer questioning whether the ICC had jurisdiction to issue warrants, requested by the court’s prosecutor, for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over the conduct of fighting in Gaza.

Rajiv Sinha, a Green party candidate in the UK election for London and Westminster, told The Media Line that he was surprised but pleased by the British government’s decision.

“International law is a deeply subjective concept that tends to work for some countries and really work against other countries,” said Sinha, who is also the director of Hindus for Human Rights UK.

He wanted the government to now go a step further and ban arms sales to Israel, which he had earlier thought had no chance of happening.

If you asked me that just a week ago, I would have [said] zero chance of that happening. But with those rumblings, as well as the UK government’s recent stance on the ICC ruling, I can’t help but be a little bit more optimistic.

“If you asked me that just a week ago, I would have [said] zero chance of that happening. But with those rumblings, as well as the UK government’s recent stance on the ICC ruling, I can’t help but be a little bit more optimistic,” Sinha said.

Labour MP Diane Abbott wrote on X, the platform formally known as Twitter, on Monday that the UK should stop selling arms to Israel, stating that “it is illegal and it is morally repugnant.”

Also on Monday, The Guardian reported that lawyer Philippe Sands, who worked for the Palestinian Authority at the International Court of Justice, said that the UK should stop weapons sales to Israel to comply with the court’s July opinion that member states should not give “aid or assistance” to support Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In response to a question in parliament on whether the UK would stop all weapons sales to Israel earlier this month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he would “consider the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza.”

However, he ruled out a “blanket ban” on arms sales to Israel.

“Israel, as a country, is surrounded by people who would see its annihilation. It is being attacked by the Houthis… [and] missiles firing from Hezbollah, [as well as] the desire of Hamas to wipe Israel off the map,” he stated.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X that the US government would “take notice” if the UK stopped arms sales based on concerns regarding modern laws on armed conflict.

Chris Newton, a former advisor on defense policy to the Conservative party, told The Media Line that he opposed the British government’s decision on the ICC prosecutor’s warrants requests. He noted that the previous Conservative government under Rishi Sunak, as well as the U.S., argued that the court does not have jurisdiction.

Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and not a member of the court.

“Questions regarding the ICC’s jurisdiction and potential overreach are fundamental ones, and I think it’s important that the UK is involved in getting the ICC to clarify its remit,” Newton wrote in a message to The Media Line.

Newton believes the British government’s move, along with its resumption of funding for the UNRWA, will harm relations with Israel.

The UK’s involvement in any challenge would have added some extra weight to it. There is also the question of what will happen if the warrant application is successful. I suspect there will be difficult months ahead for UK-Israeli relations.

“The UK’s involvement in any challenge would have added some extra weight to it. There is also the question of what will happen if the warrant application is successful,” he stated. “I suspect there will be difficult months ahead for UK-Israeli relations.”

Soon after the ICC prosecutor’s request for the arrest warrants, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there was no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, and warrants would not make a difference in ceasing fighting, delivering aid, or freeing hostages.