ICC decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders is a 'mistake', says Lord Cameron
Over 140 cruise missiles and I think that position of acting outside our our normal processes would have been completely wrong. But let me answer very directly on the ICC and the announcement yesterday. But I don't believe for one moment that seeking these warrants is going to help get the hostages out. It's not going to help get aid in and it's not going to help deliver a sustainable. Ceasefire. And as we've said from the outset, because Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and because Palestine is not yet recognised as a state, we don't think that the court has jurisdiction in this area. But I I would go beyond that and say frankly, I think this is mistaken in terms of position, in terms of timing, in terms of effect, to draw moral equivalence between the Hamas leadership and the democratically elected leader of Israel, I think is just plain wrong. And I think it's not just Britain saying that. Countries all over Europe and all over the world are saying that. On timing, I'd make the point to the Lordship's house that the ICC was about to embark on a visit to Israel, which some of us had helped to arrange, and at the last minute decide to cancel that visit and simply go ahead with its announcement. Now, it's not normally for the ICC to think about the effect, but as it clearly thought about the timing, maybe it should also think about the effect. And as I said, it's not going to help get the hostages out, and it probably makes change in Israel less likely.