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
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.”
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.”
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