The Met Police have reopened an investigation into Britons who fought Israel [Getty]
London’s Metropolitan police confirmed to The New Arab on Friday that it had reopened its investigation into British nationals who fought in Israel’s war on Gaza after closing the probe in April.
This comes after the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) submitted a “landmark” 240-page referral last year, alleging that ten UK nationals, including dual citizens, had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during their time in the Israeli army during the Gaza genocide.
After extensive review, the Metropolitan Police narrowed its focus to four identifiable British nationals.
Accusations include “wilful killing, extermination, attacking civilians, and deportation or forcible transfer of population”.
Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) War Crimes Team confirmed to The New Arab that, after speaking with the referring parties, the unit decided to reverse its decision and investigate the nationals.
“As part of the UK’s international obligations, information provided to CTP relating to alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity may also be passed to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where relevant and appropriate to aid any of their ongoing investigations,” Counter Terrorism Policing told The New Arab.
CTP added that like all referrals, they will be assessed by specialist officers to determine whether any UK-based investigation may be required.
“At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into any matters relating to this particular [war],” the unit said.
In April, the War Crimes Team told the PILC and PCHR that it would not pursue an investigation due to insufficient evidence to justify opening one.
But after the decision was challenged, the Met Police withdrew their decision and confirmed it would be conducting a fresh probe.
Over 2,000 British nationals have served in the Israeli military during the Gaza war, according to Declassified, which broke the story of the Met’s reversal.
Over 26,000 people also signed a letter calling for the UK government to track British nationals who served in the Israeli army and conduct independent war crimes investigations.
Following the outbreak of the Gaza genocide in 2023, Israel faced accusations of war crimes and genocide by a range of international bodies, human rights organisations, and governments.
Most notably, the International Criminal Court in 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, a United Nations investigation in the same year found that Israeli authorities had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during military operations in Gaza.
