Revelation of UK pressure on ICC sparks tensions in London

Kareem Khan, ICC Chief Prosecutor, accused a senior UK government official of threatening the court, stating that the official warned London would withdraw its support for the ICC if arrest warrants were pursued against Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, and Yoav Galant, the former war minister, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

According to Middle East Eye, the UK Foreign Office declined to comment on Khan’s allegation that a senior official threatened to withhold UK funding and support for the court if it pursued arrest warrants against Israeli officials.

In a statement submitted to the court last Wednesday, Khan detailed the threats he received ahead of his office’s request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Galant in May 2024, relating to alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Khan described receiving a phone call from a senior UK official who warned that arrest warrants against Israeli officials would be “disproportionate” and could result in the UK cutting funding to the court.

Investigations indicate that the official Khan referred to was David Cameron, former UK Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, who called Khan on April 23, 2024.

The UK Foreign Office declined to comment when asked about the matter.

According to several sources, including former staffers from Khan’s office who were aware of the conversation and had seen the meeting records, the call Khan referenced was indeed with Cameron.

Sources said that during the call, Cameron told Khan that pursuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant would be like “dropping a hydrogen bomb.”

Cameron reportedly said that legal action against Israel should not be treated the same way as issues related to the Ukraine war.

French newspaper Le Monde reported in August that during the call, Cameron threatened that if Khan proceeded with his plan, the UK would withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.

The New Yorker reported in October that Khan told UN investigators that Cameron described the move to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials as “a hydrogen bomb.”

In a narrative recounted in Peter Oborne’s book Complicity: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza, a source close to Cameron confirmed that the call took place and was serious.

The source added that Cameron emphasized strong voices within the Conservative Party would push to cut ICC funding and withdraw the UK from the Rome Statute.

Hamza Yusuf, former First Minister of Scotland, stated in June that the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee should investigate what occurred during the phone call. Yusuf held the office of First Minister while Cameron was Foreign Secretary.

Jeremy Corbyn, independent MP and former leader of the Labour Party, also called in August for an inquiry into the conversation between Cameron and Khan, stating: “I think we need to know, and we have a right to know.”