Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy due to the change in London’s position regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant for the prime minister, according to The Times, Report informs via TASS.
According to the report, Netanyahu felt offended by the new British government’s position, and therefore refused to receive the Foreign Secretary, who visited Israel last week.
In late July, the British government refused to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction regarding the arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister. The Guardian reported at the time that the decision, made by the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, increases the probability that the ICC will satisfy the request of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan.
According to the newspaper, Israel and the US were persuading London not to abolish their objections, believing that prosecution of Netanyahu could negatively affect the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The Times notes that Lammy also planned to announce the ban on sales of offensive weapons to Israel, but postponed this statement in order to not disrupt the talks on the Middle Eastern settlement. According to the article, the Foreign Secretary is being pressured by his fellow party members, who demand more decisive actions.