Lawyers accuse 10 Brits of committing war crimes fighting for Israel in Gaza
Lawyer Michael Mansfield says 'British nationals are under a legal obligation not to collude with crimes committed in Palestine'
A war crimes complaint is reportedly to be submitted to the Metropolitan Police against 10 Britons serving with the Israeli military in Gaza by a group of human rights lawyers.
A 240-page submission, due to be handed to Scotland Yard’s war crimes unit on Monday, will allege that the British linked IDF soldiers were involved in the targeted killings of civilians and aid workers.
Prepared by the UK lawyers including Michael Mansfield KC, the report also accuses the 10 Brits of involvement into the forced displacement of civilians, and of attacks on historic sites in Gaza.
Mansfield told the Guardian newspaper: “If one of our nationals is committing an offence, we ought to be doing something about it.
“Even if we can’t stop the government of foreign countries behaving badly, we can at least stop our nationals from behaving badly.
“British nationals are under a legal obligation not to collude with crimes committed in Palestine. No one is above the law.”
The names of the 10 individuals, who are said to include senior military figures at officer level, will not be made public for legal reasons.
Sean Summerfield, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, who also helped compile the dossier, told the newspaper it was based on open-source evidence and witness testimony, which together presented a “compelling” case.
“The public will be shocked, I would have thought, to hear that there’s credible evidence that Brits have been directly involved in committing some of those atrocities,” he said.
Summerfield added the team wanted to see individuals “appearing at the Old Bailey to answer for atrocity crimes”.
The report cites Britain’s responsibility under international treaties to investigate and prosecute those who have committed “core international crimes”.
Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 states that it “is an offence against the law of England and Wales for a person to commit genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime”, even if it takes place in another country.
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