'UK did not bomb Belfast to get IRA', says prosecutor seeking Netanyahu arrest
Britain did not bomb streets of Ireland to take out the leaders of the IRA, Karim Khan has said as he justifies seeking an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said it was not his job to make friends but to put the victims of injustice and war first, regardless of the geopolitical consequences.
Speaking to The Times, he said the court had to “do our job whether we are applauded or condemned.”
Mr Khan has requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
He alleged the five men “bear criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, Israel and its western allies have reacted furiously to the decision, with Joe Biden calling it “outrageous” and Rishi Sunak saying it was “deeply unhelpful”.
‘Drop a 2,000lb bomb on the Falls Road’
Mr Khan stressed to The Times that Israel had every right to protect its population but that nobody “has a licence to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity.”
He pointed to the UK’s conflict with the IRA as an example of how a government should be restrained in its response to terror attacks.
Mr Khan said: “There were attempts to kill Margaret Thatcher, Airey Neave was blown up, Lord Mountbatten was blown up, there was the Enniskillen attack, we had kneecappings…
“But the British didn’t decide to say, ‘Well, on the Falls Road [the heart of Catholic Belfast] there undoubtedly may be some IRA members and Republican sympathisers, so therefore let’s drop a 2,000lb bomb on the Falls Road.’ You can’t do that.”
Since Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel on Oct 7, Israel has responded with a ferocity that has alarmed many of its staunchest allies.
Hamas still holding 121 hostages
Nearly 36,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The ICC claims Israel has imposed “forced starvation” on the strip, including denying access of humanitarian support and targeting civilians in a war.
Hamas is believed to still be holding 121 hostages from the 252 it took in the melee of its attack.
On Friday the International Court of Justice – a UN court which deals with states, not individuals – ruled Israel should stop its military offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza.
The US and UK had been hardening their position towards their longtime ally in the months into its offensive but following Mr Khan’s ruling they jumped to Israel’s defence.
In a statement, the US president said: “Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
But Mr Khan said he wasn’t trying to equate the two .
He said: “I am not saying that Israel with its democracy and its supreme court is akin to Hamas, of course not. I couldn’t be clearer, Israel has every right to protect its population and to get the hostages back.
“But nobody has a licence to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. The means define us.”
Israel’s army said at least eight rockets had been fired towards central Israel from Rafah on Sunday, with several intercepted by its Iron Dome defence system.
