The UK’s Metropolitan (Met) police force is directing resources towards speculative war crimes in Israel or Gaza.
Responding to an investigation into ‘the Situation in the State of Palestine’ launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Met has displayed posters at Heathrow urging travellers who have been in Israel or Palestine and may have ‘witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes, or crimes against humanity’ to come forward.
The Met has defended its investigation of alleged war crimes in the Israel-Gaza war. ‘Under the terms of the 1998 Rome Statute, our war crimes team is obliged to support any investigations opened by the ICC that could involve British subjects’.
Counterterror police have put up posters in Arabic and English at key British airports, including Heathrow, that read: ‘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 Counter-Terrorism Command is also collecting evidence on the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October, for use in inquests on British people who were among the 1,200 people killed when Hamas attacked Israel.
It’s understood the unit also looked into claims of war crimes following the 2015 Tunisia massacre when a gunman opened fire on tourists, killing 38 people, mostly British.