British-born Israeli ex-government official accused of violating international law

A pro-Palestinian organisation said on Thursday that it had made a criminal complaint accusing a British-born Israeli ex-government official of violating international law.

The UK-based International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said in a press release, which did not name the ex-government official, that it had issued the war crimes unit of London's Metropolitan Police with a complaint on Thursday.

"The complaint includes allegations of abetting, inciting, and conspiring with the government of Israel to commit the crimes of intentionally using starvation as a method of warfare and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health to Palestinian civilians of Gaza," ICJP added.

"The complaint provides evidence of underlying international crimes punishable under UK legislation, and evidence demonstrating the individual’s accessorial liability for the underlying crimes."

Israel is currently carrying out a war in Gaza. The military campaign has killed at least 36,731 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.

The ICJP said that the person it accused is a British-Israeli dual national and that they would face "seven counts of serious international law violations" if legal proceedings were initiated.

"In their capacity as an ex-government official for Israel, the complaint proposes that there is 'clear and convincing evidence' that the individual was instrumental in supporting the blockade [of] basic necessities such as food, water, electricity, fuel and medical aid, supplies and medications," ICJP added.

"It also alleges complicity and support of the attacks on local food production and distribution, humanitarian aid organisations, and medical facilities and professionals.

"It also shows evidence alleging that the individual provided cover for illegal acts carried out by the Israeli government and military, knowing that doing so would cause those acts to continue."

The ICJP alleged in its press release that examples of the accused's "'accessory liability' to abet, incite and conspire to commit the alleged crimes includes a plethora of examples of statements", divided into three broad categories.

One of these categories is hate speech against Palestinians and Muslims, according to the ICJP.

The pro-Palestinian organisation said evidence includes witness testimonies from 19 doctors who have worked in Gaza since October 2023, the month when the war on Gaza started.

A Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel on 7 October resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

The Metropolitan Police told The New Arab that the Counter Terrorism Policing war crimes team has received more than 100 referrals "relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October".

"We will not be commenting on the specific nature of each and every referral, but each one will be reviewed in line with War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity Referral Guidelines, jointly agreed by police and the Crown Prosecution Service," police said in a statement.

"At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into any matters relating to this particular conflict.

"The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to impact communities in the UK and internationally, and we recognise the strength of feeling on all sides.

"We remain focussed on supporting victims and witnesses who report core international crimes, as well as supporting the UK families of those directly affected by the terrorist attacks in Israel."

The Counter Terrorism Policing war crimes team operates nationally but the Metropolitan Police hosts it.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Note: This article was updated on 7 June 2024 following a statement from the Metropolitan Police.