Keir Starmer damned by Israel arrest warrants

Starmer used his reputation as a human rights lawyer to win the Labour leadership. The ICC arrest warrants expose him as an accomplice to genocide.

In what feels like the parallel universe of early January 2020, Sir Keir Starmer launched his bid for the Labour leadership. His campaign video was produced by Tom Kibasi, a former think tank wonk who would later regret endorsing the former Brexit Secretary. It extolled Starmer’s past as a crusading human rights lawyer, defending, variously, striking miners and climate activists, and opposing New Labour’s illegal war in Iraq.

Amidst his 10 pledges - definition: “a solemn promise or undertaking” - to Labour members was number 4: “Promote peace and human rights”, with commitments to “no more illegal wars”, to “put human rights at the heart of foreign policy”, and “review all arms sales and make us a force for international peace and justice.”

This leadership campaign, of course, represents one of the most egregious examples of political deceit in Britain’s democratic history: the pledges variously included commitments to nationalisation, hiking income tax on top earners, defending free movement and scrapping tuition fees, all of which were abandoned. But as the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Starmer’s moral, legal and political bankruptcy are on shameless display.

Notoriously, at the beginning of Israel’s genocide, Starmer appeared on British media outlet LBC and defended Israel’s right to impose a siege on Gaza’s civilian population. He later repeatedly attempted to gaslight voters into believing he had never believed what he had in fact said, but the then-Leader of the Opposition had offered political cover for war crimes, just as Israeli leaders and officials were publicly declaring their genocidal intent.

There were no excuses available for Starmer here. He was, after all, a human rights lawyer by trade. In 2014, in the International Court of Justice, he prosecuted Serbia for the crime of genocide on behalf of Croatia. Serbia was indeed responsible for grave crimes, and it is not to belittle those atrocities to point out that Israel has committed far more obscene and deadlier violence against civilians in Gaza. Our now Prime Minister knows perfectly well that imposing a siege on a civilian population violates Article 33 of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective punishment. And the crime he specifically defended forms the very core of the ICC’s arrest warrants.

Starmer spent months defending Israel’s murderous onslaught against Gaza as an act of self-defence - and beyond. When, after 137 days after genocidal mayhem, Labour finally voted for a ceasefire, it was only because they were forced to by a motion submitted by the Scottish National Party. Starmer’s team briefed he could not tolerate the SNP’s wording - which correctly condemned Israel for “collective punishment”, which would mean consequences in terms of arms sales and sanctions - and his party gutted the motion, briefing they had blackmailed the Speaker to acquiesce or they would remove him from office.

He has refused, to this day, to accept Israel has committed a single war crime. His attempts at deflection - that it is not for him to offer a running commentary - are exposed by his passionate willingness to rightly call out Russia for its war crimes. Whilst he will always show grief and fury at the killing of Israeli civilians on 7th October 2023, and fiery denunciation of the perpetrators, he has never shown evidence that he sees Palestinian life as having real value. When independent MP Ayoub Khan asked him about genocide in Gaza last week, Starmer immediately segued to 7th October: he could not countenance any focus on Palestinian suffering. When Iran fired weapons at Israel which did not kill a single Israeli civilian, Starmer fronted a press conference denouncing this as aggression against “civilian targets”. No such incandescence has ever been displayed as Israel wiped Gaza from the face of the earth.

Yes, Starmer’s government suspended some arms sales to Israel, believing itself legally obliged to do so: but as well as doing so apologetically, it left 92% intact. Crucially, 15% of the components of F35 jets used to rain death and mayhem in Gaza are manufactured in Britain: their exports remain. It restored funding to UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency and the main humanitarian agency in Gaza, but months after other nations had already done so, and only after initially giving credence to Israeli smears used to justify suspending support in the first place. And the government abandoned a parting gift from Rishi Sunak’s imploding administration - withdrawing a groundless, vexatious complaint which attempted to block the ICC case. If you’re offering plaudits for not actively sabotaging international justice, the bar really is on the floor.

When the ICC took action against Vladimir Putin, Starmer was swift to issue a tweet in support. Not today: at time of writing, 29 hours after the arrest warrants were issued, neither Starmer nor his morally empty ladder climbing Foreign Secretary David Lammy had tweeted a thing. Their Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, took to the airwaves to declare the possible arrest of Netanyahu if he sets foot in British soil wasn’t a matter for her. As lawyer Tayab Ali puts it, "Literally, section 2 of the International Criminal Court Act places obligations directly on the Secretary of State. If you can’t do your job and uphold the rule of law step aside and let someone who can do the job do it.”

In contrast to one of his predecessors, Boris Johnson, Starmer has been presented as a man of integrity by both himself and his cheerleaders. There are many words that can be used to describe a human rights lawyer turned politician who defends and facilitates war crimes. “Integrity” is not one of them.