Lib Dem leader urges foreign secretary to lobby ICC to issue Hamas arrest warrants
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Lib Dem leader urges foreign secretary to lobby ICC to issue Hamas arrest warrants

EXCLUSIVE: Ed Davey writes to Lord Cameron saying 'There simply has to be accountability at an international level for the crimes perpetrated by Hamas' on Oct 7th

Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor

Ed Davey meets with Yair Lapid in Israel
Ed Davey meets with Yair Lapid in Israel

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey has written to foreign secretary Lord Cameron urging him to lobby the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue international arrest warrants for the Hamas terrorists involved in planning the October 7 attacks.

Davey, recently returned from a visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where he met with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and set out his proposal to get the ICC to issue warrants for Hamas leaders.

Confirming he had now written to Cameron, Davey said:“There simply has to be accountability at an international level for the crimes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th.

“The Foreign Secretary should make the case to the ICC, that international arrest warrants should be issued and Hamas should be pursued.”

David Cameron meets Benny Gantz is London

As the first Lib Dem leader to visit Israel since the party was formed in 1988, Davey travelled to kibbutz Kfar Aza and the site of the music festival at Re’im during his visit, and also met Itzik Horn, whose two sons Eitan and Yair are currently being held hostage by Hamas.

The Lib Dem leader and Lapid had previously met virtually during the pandemic, and more recently have held calls to discuss the October 7 attacks and the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The Liberal Democrats and Yesh Atid are sister parties.

Davey, who was joined by Liberal Democrats Friend of Israel honorary chair Gavin Stollar on the trip, which included a visit to east Jerusalem to see how civil society organisations and a hospital were functioning.

He told Jewish News:“Visiting kibbutz Kfar Aza and Re’im on the border with Gaza and seeing the devastation wreaked by Hamas on October 7 was a truly heartbreaking experience.

“As well as demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, there must be justice for all those who were so tragically murdered by Hamas terrorists, and for their families.

“There simply has to be accountability at an international level for the crimes perpetrated by Hamas. The Foreign Secretary should make the case to the ICC, that international arrest warrants should be issued and Hamas should be pursued.”

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: