ICC prosecutor's arrest warrant application "not helpful," says UK

The United Kingdom has criticized the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, implying the step could hamper the situation on the ground in Gaza.

A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement:

This action is not helpful in relation to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out or getting humanitarian aid in."

Later, another UK government spokesperson reiterated the UK’s opposition to the ICC’s action. “As we have said from the outset, we do not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case. The UK has not yet recognised Palestine as a state, and Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute,” the spokesperson said.

Some context: The UK is among the 124 countries that have signed up to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. While it's true that Israel is not a signatory (neither is the United States), the ICC claims to have jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank after Palestinian leaders formally agreed to be bound by the court’s founding principles in 2015. A group of international legal experts issued a report on Monday, saying they that they believe the court has jurisdiction over the crimes set out in Khan's application.