The British police announced on Tuesday that specialized officers would examine the possibility of opening an investigation into war crimes committed during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. This follows a complaint lodged by a pro-Palestinian group.
The London police stated that their small war crimes team, based within the Counter Terrorism Command, will assess whether further action or a formal investigation is required.
They confirmed that they received a complaint last Friday relating to allegations connected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A police spokesperson explained that the information provided in the complaint would now be evaluated by specialized officers as part of a comprehensive process to determine whether any further action or an official investigation should be initiated.
At this time, there is no ongoing investigation in the UK into this matter or any other specific issues related to this conflict.
The assessment will be based on the guidelines for potential war crimes investigations set out by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service, which has final authority over matters for consideration in England and Wales.
However, the prosecution service requires permission from the Attorney General, one of the senior government ministers and the principal legal adviser to the state, for trials related to war crimes.
The International Justice for Palestinians (IJP), based in the UK and an independent organization comprising lawyers, academics, and politicians advocating for Palestinian rights, submitted a “war crimes” complaint to the Metropolitan Police.
The group stated that its investigators handed over a 70-page “evidence file” to the police, detailing several alleged crimes committed by Israel in recent months.
Tayyib Ali, the director of the IJP, announced the move, explaining that the file includes attacks on properties, monuments, hospitals, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid and basic necessities, deliberately causing significant suffering or serious physical harm.
The file accuses Israel of deliberately using the starvation of civilians and depriving them of essentials to survive as a means of warfare.
These developments come while the International Criminal Court, the world’s only independent court investigating grave crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity, continues its ongoing inquiry into the long-standing conflict.
In 2021, the court initiated an investigation involving Israel, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups regarding potential war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, South Africa accused Israel before the International Court of Justice last week of violating the Genocide Convention and called the attack by Hamas on October 7th of the previous year insufficient to justify Israel’s actions in Gaza.
