Rights group seeks to prosecute UK government over Gaza war crimes complicity

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has warned UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of its intention to prosecute him and other officials over alleged complicity in the Israeli regime's war crimes in Gaza.

ICJP, a UK-based, independent organization that works to promote and support Palestinian rights, on Saturday issued a notice to Sunak over the UK providing “military, economic and political support to Israel, which has aided Israel’s perpetration of war crimes.”

ICJP notice comes as the Israeli regime made attempts to forcefully evacuate more than one million Palestinians in north Gaza to southern parts in less than a day.

ICJP said the “mass forced displacement” may amount to “both a war crime and a crime against humanity.”

 “The siege of Gaza, restricting electricity, food, water and other basic necessities, constitutes collective punishment, which is also a war crime under the Geneva Convention,” it added.

 “Now that war crimes have been carried out, continuation of such support and assistance would mean that UK government officials would be complicit in the commission of war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity,” it added.

The complicity, ICJP said, formally known as “aiding and abetting”‘war crimes may mean that UK government officials are individually criminally liable for breaking international law.

The notice by ICJP has been sent to Scotland Yard’s War Crimes Unit, which has asked for evidence of war crimes in the region.

Crispin Blunt, ICJP Co-Director, an MP belonging to Sunak’s Conservative party and a former chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, in an interview with Sky News on Saturday said that the forcible transfer of people in Gaza breached international law, and that parties with knowledge of such breaches made themselves “complicit.”

“If you know that a party is going to commit a war crime – and this forcible transfer of people is a precise breach of one of the statutes that governs international law and all states in this area – then you are making yourself complicit. And as international law has developed in this area, the fact of being complicit makes you equally guilty to the party carrying out the crime,” Blunt said.

He added that the government could face legal action over Israel’s war on Gaza.

Thousands rally in London in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israeli strikes on Gaza

Thousands of people pour into the streets of London to show their support for Palestinians amid Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

On October 7, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched multi-pronged strikes on Israel and penetrated deep into the territories occupied by the Israeli regime for decades.

The large-scale operation, code-named Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, which took Israel by surprise, was a response to the occupying regime’s recurrent desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque and decade-long atrocities against Palestinians.  

More than 1,300 Israelis died during the strikes and thousands were injured, while hundreds of others are held in Gaza as prisoners of war by resistance fighters.

Israel also responded by indiscriminate bombardment of civilian buildings and infrastructure and putting a total siege on the Strip leaving the area, home to more than 2.3 Palestinians, without fuel, electricity, water and food.  

So far, more than 2,300 Palestinians, including children and women, have been killed during the intensive airstrikes against Gaza.

As Tel Aviv is preparing to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, it is forcing Palestinians living in the densely populated territory to move out of the area, something the UN had called “impossible.”

The Western governments, namely the US, Britain, Germany and France, have offered “steadfast support” to Israel amid the regime’s incessant bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip over the past few days.

Keir Starmer, leader of the UK opposition, also came under criticism this week after stating that Israel had the “right” to totally cut power and water supplies to Palestinians in Gaza.

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