Met Police defends its investigation into Israel-Gaza ‘war crimes’

Get the free Morning Headlines electronic mail for information from our reporters the world over

Sign as much as our free Morning Headlines electronic mail

The Metropolitan Police have defended their investigation of alleged struggle crimes within the Israel–Gaza struggle, saying they’re obliged to by a global settlement.

Boris Johnson and different critics have hit out on the resolution by Scotland Yard to enchantment for info from anybody getting back from Israel or the Palestinian territories who thinks they’ve seen struggle crimes, terrorism or crimes towards humanity.

Counterterror police have put up posters in Arabic and English at key British airports, together with Heathrow, that learn: “If you have been in Israel/Palestinian Territories and have witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes or crimes against humanity, then you can report this to the UK police.”

The ex-prime minister informed The Telegraph he feared it marked a “worrying politicisation of the Met Police”.

Social-media customers expressed shock that the Met Police had a struggle crimes unit, and some critics mentioned the power for London must be spending its assets tackling crime within the capital.

Mr Johnson mentioned: “When I was mayor of London, I made clear that we would not import foreign wars or disputes onto the streets of London. The Met would be better off fighting knife crime in the capital.”

But the power mentioned that underneath the 1998 Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), its struggle crimes crew was obliged to assist any investigations by the courtroom that might contain Britons.

A Scotland Yard spokesman mentioned: “As the UK’s investigative authority for war crimes, Counter Terrorism Policing – through the Met’s war crimes team – has a responsibility to support International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations.

“The ICC opened an investigation in 2019 into alleged war crimes in Israel and Palestine and this remains ongoing.”

He mentioned the struggle crimes crew had acquired greater than 40 referrals in latest weeks over the battle in Israel and Palestine, together with some from individuals who had just lately returned from the area.

“These are being looked at in line with our usual guidelines for assessing such referrals relating to allegations of war crimes. Any information that is assessed as being relevant to the ongoing ICC investigation into the Palestine situation will then be passed to the ICC as appropriate.

“There is currently no UK-based investigation in relation to this matter.”

The spokesman added that with larger numbers of Britons getting back from the Middle East, the Met was signposting folks to the place to report proof.

The Counter Terrorism Command can be gathering proof on the terrorist assault on Israel on 7 October to be used in inquests on British individuals who have been among the many 1,200 folks killed when Hamas militants raided Israel.

In 2022, the Met’s struggle crimes unit launched appeals for info on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s struggle on Ukraine, which began the month earlier than, calling for info courting way back to 2013. The unit assesses which info it is going to ahead to the ICC.

It has a web page obtainable in each Ukrainian and Russian for such crimes, together with torture, genocide and crimes towards humanity, to be reported.

In the Nineteen Nineties, the struggle crimes unit investigated a British pensioner in Germany for his alleged position within the Holocaust in World War Two after his son despatched them a file of proof, the BBC reported.

It’s understood the unit additionally appeared into claims of struggle crimes following the 2015 Tunisia bloodbath, when a gunman opened hearth on vacationers, killing 38, largely British.