Responding to the announcement by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it is seeking arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Green Party spokesperson for global solidarity, Carne Ross, said:
“The ICC prosecutor’s announcement today sets out in horrifying detail the brutal decisions undertaken by the leaders of both Hamas and Israel.
“Green Party leaders wrote to the foreign secretary David Cameron six months ago setting out how war crimes had been committed by both sides [1]. The UK government must now stop denying the heinous crimes perpetrated by the government of Israel and its defence forces including, according to the ICC, the starvation of civilians, wilfully causing great suffering and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.
“This is a big test for David Cameron who has to date refuted any suggestion of war crimes by Israel and refused to reveal the government’s legal advice. Under the Rome Statute, which the UK helped write, he is obliged to support this ICC process. The government’s claim that it supports the international rule of law is being put to the test.”
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