Demands to Halt UK Trade Talks and Arms Sales with Israel As Netanyahu Faces Potential Arrest Over War Crimes Claims

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he visits the UK, if the warrants are issued

Josiah Mortimer

20 May 2024

   

Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

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Calls to suspend UK trade talks and arms sales to Israel have been renewed after the International Criminal Court announced that it is seeking arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the leaders of Hamas, over alleged violations of international law. 

The ICC alleges that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza in its response to the 7 October Hamas terror attacks last year.

They are accused of using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare – a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which came into force in 2002. 

They are also accused of “wilfully” causing great suffering, serious injury, and cruel treatment, which are classified as war crimes.

If arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant, along with the three senior Hamas individuals also charged by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), would be active in the 124 countries that are parties to the Rome Statute – including the UK. That means that UK police would have an obligation to arrest those individuals if they travelled to the country.

The UK Government has said it does “not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case”.

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The ICC charges include wilful killing and murder as war crimes, with specific reference to attacks on Gaza’s civilian population. 

The allegations also state that Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally directed attacks against civilians, violating multiple articles of the Rome Statute. 

And the court contends that Israel systematically deprived Gaza’s civilian population of essential supplies and services, including food, water, and electricity, as part of a siege strategy.

The actions are described as part of a “widespread and systematic attack” against Palestinian civilians, aiming to eliminate Hamas, secure hostage returns, and “collectively punish” Gaza’s population.

“These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day,” the prosecutors argue. 

The effects of Israel blockading Gaza and closing border crossings for aid include severe malnutrition, dehydration, and increasing deaths, with famine present in some areas and imminent in others, they allege. 

Hamas leaders are accused of attempting “extermination” as a crime against humanity, and using murder as a crime against humanity. 

Three Hamas figures are accused of leading the terrorist group’s efforts to take hostages and use rape and other acts of sexual violence, as well as torture, as crimes against humanity, among other charges. 

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UK Arms Sales Continue

The UK Government has granted licences for the sale of British weapons to Israel under a wide range of categories in recent years, according to the Global Legal Action Network. Since 2015, there has been £472 million in limited value ‘standard’ licence grants, and 58 unlimited value ‘open’ licences.

This includes sales of body armour, military communications equipment, military electronic equipment, components for military radars and targeting equipment, components for military aircraft displays and unmanned air vehicles, components for military support and combat aircraft, naval vessel components, and much more.

“Given that these items are all capable of being used in Israel’s actions against Palestinians, many of which are criminal acts under international criminal law, there is plainly a ‘clear risk’… meaning the Government should not be issuing these licences” under its own rules, a spokesperson for the Global Legal Action Network said in November.

However, since then, the UK Government body responsible for decisions on arms exports has refused to change its rules on sending military gear to Israel.

The Scottish National Party’s Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP said: “This is a deeply serious development that once again pulls into sharp focus the full extent of the horrors committed by Hamas, as well as the grotesque and deadly Israeli Government response.

“Both the UK Government and the Labour Party must stand by international law and, whilst this application for an arrest warrant is determined, confirm that they will both fully support the final determination that is made by the court.

“In the meantime, the supply of arms to Israel must be halted and an immediate ceasefire demanded. Westminster’s equivocation has left it complicit in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the collective punishment of the Palestinian people must now stop.”

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The SNP has previously attempted to table a motion to force the UK Government to immediately end arms sales to Israel, but the move was blocked. 

A letter signed by 134 MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum earlier this month called on the Foreign Secretary and Business Secretary to “immediately suspend export licenses for arms transfers to Israel”. 

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that ICC chief Karim Khan’s statement was a “baseless blood libel against Israel” that “crossed a red line in his lawfare efforts against the lone Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East”.

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Foreign Office in Firing Line

But a UK-based non-profit consisting of lawyers and campaigners, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, welcomed the move.

Representatives had submitted evidence to the ICC, collected from “first-hand eyewitnesses including from a significant number of medical professionals who have been in Gaza since October”, according to the group.

It said its investigation team included former British police detectives, who collected the evidence to British police force standards. 

The ruling came amid reports that there were threats and attempts to undermine the independence and impartiality of the ICC – cited in the organisation’s statement today. 

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians says that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office must now take “clear action to protect the rules-based international order by supporting the ICC’s move”.

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“FCDO must ensure with all certainty that it is in no way complicit with the current Israeli Government, especially now that the war crimes of its leadership have been made more explicit than ever,” a spokesperson said.  

Tayab Ali, director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, added: “Whilst many doubted the ICC would apply for arrest warrants for Israeli suspected war criminals, we did not.

“Any independent analysis of the evidence will result in an overwhelming appreciation that Israel has engaged in the most serious of war crimes. It was on this analysis that we based our view and trust in the ICC that it would live up to its mandate.

“But now, finally, the ICC has taken the first step to break impunity and hold Israeli politicians and military personnel accountable.

“We will continue to provide the ICC with credible evidence of war crimes and work with the international community to guard the ICC against unlawful interference with its proceedings. There is still a long road ahead before we can say that justice has been done.”

Conservative Ministers Andrew Mitchell MP and Alan Mak MP are set to be questioned by the cross-party Business and Trade Committee on Government policy on UK arms exports to Israel tomorrow.

The committee is likely to ask about the scale of UK military and ‘dual-use’ (civilian and military) exports to the country, and whether they remain confident that licencing decisions remain compliant with domestic and international law.

The UK is still engaged in ongoing trade talks for a possible trade deal with Israel, Rishi Sunak’s spokesman confirmed to journalists in recent weeks.

A Government spokesperson said: “We do not believe that seeking warrants will help get hostages out, get aid in, or deliver a sustainable ceasefire. This remains the UK’s priority.

“As we have said from the outset, we do not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case. The UK has not recognised Palestine as a state, and Israel is not a state party to the Rome Statute.”

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WRITTEN BY

Josiah Mortimer

Josiah Mortimer is Byline Times’ Chief Reporter. He joined the title in 2023 after working in local journalism for MyLondon. Prior to that Josiah was a freelancer, and worked for the Electoral Reform Society, the independent democracy group. Josiah reports on UK cronyism, the constitution, and campaigning. He also writes Byline Times’ monthly On the Ground column in print. If you have a political story that needs reporting, get in touch: josiah@bylinetimes.com

 Computer scientist ‘lied extensively’ in Bitcoin founder claim, judge rules

Dr Craig Wright arriving at the Rolls Building in London during the trial earlier this year (Lucy North/PA)

By Callum Parke, PA Law Reporter

Today at 07:45

A computer scientist lied “extensively and repeatedly” in a failed bid to claim he was Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym attributed to the person widely credited with creating Bitcoin, a High Court judge has ruled.

Dr Craig Wright lost a legal battle with the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a non-profit group including cryptocurrency firms, in March after the group claimed he committed “forgery on an industrial scale” to support a “brazen lie” that he was Satoshi.

After a five-week trial, Mr Justice Mellor ruled that there was “overwhelming” evidence to prove that the Australian was not behind the pseudonym, and had not written the cryptocurrency’s founding document, known as the Bitcoin White Paper.

All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto

Mr Justice Mellor

In written reasons for his decision, handed down on Monday, the judge said that he was “entirely satisfied” that Dr Wright repeatedly lied and committed “clumsy” forgeries “on a grand scale” to support his claims.

He said: “Dr Wright presents himself as an extremely clever person. However, in my judgment, he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.

“In both his written evidence and in days of oral evidence under cross-examination, I am entirely satisfied that Dr Wright lied to the court extensively and repeatedly.

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“Most of his lies related to the documents he had forged which purported to support his claim.

“All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Mr Justice Mellor said that Dr Wright found “convenient excuses” for evidence against him and that his attempts to prove he was Satoshi “represent a most serious abuse of the court’s process”.

As soon as one lie was exposed, Dr Wright resorted to further lies and evasions

Mr Justice Mellor

Barristers for Copa told the trial in London earlier this year that Dr Wright’s claim to be Satoshi was “founded on an elaborate false narrative” and was substantiated by forged documents which showed “clear signs of having been doctored”.

Lawyers for Dr Wright claimed the expert had released the white paper after “having spent many years devoted to studying and working on concepts underpinning Bitcoin” and there was “clear evidence” demonstrating his creation of the digital currency.

They also said that if anyone else were Satoshi, they or their associates would have come forward.

But in his 231-page judgment, Mr Justice Mellor said: “Many of Dr Wright’s lies contained a grain of truth, which is sometimes said to be the mark of an accomplished liar, but there were many which did not and were outright lies.

“As soon as one lie was exposed, Dr Wright resorted to further lies and evasions.

“The final destination frequently turned out to be either Dr Wright blaming some other, often unidentified, person for his predicament or what can only be described as technobabble delivered by him in the witness box.”

Developers can now continue their important work maintaining, iterating on, and improving the Bitcoin network without risking their personal livelihoods or fearing costly and time-consuming litigation from Craig Wright

Copa

He continued: “I tried to identify whether there was any reliable evidence to support Dr Wright’s claim and concluded there was none.”

The judge added that Satoshi “remains a pseudonym” but that “it is likely that a number of people contributed to the creation of Bitcoin, albeit that there may well have been one central individual”.

Following the judgment, a Copa spokesperson said: “This decision is a watershed moment for the open-source community and even more importantly, a definitive win for the truth.

“Developers can now continue their important work maintaining, iterating on, and improving the Bitcoin network without risking their personal livelihoods or fearing costly and time-consuming litigation from Craig Wright.

“Today’s ruling is the result of a concerted and united effort across the entire open source community – from developers to those who selflessly contributed to funding this important case, to all members of the COPA alliance – and we want to thank them all for their time, dedication and support.

“Justice has been served today for the entire community.”

In a post on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, Dr Wright said he intends to appeal the ruling.

HAARP research facility was not behind recent UK Northern Lights sightings

20 MAY 2024

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

The Northern Lights seen in many parts of the world recently were not a natural occurrence, but generated by the HAARP facility in Alaska.

OUR VERDICT

The Northern Lights were caused by a severe geomagnetic storm produced by the sun and were in no way caused by research carried out by HAARP.

Several posts circulating on Facebook and Threads claim that the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, seen in many parts of the world between 10 and 12 May 2024, were actually created by a research facility in Alaska.

Although the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) did run a “research campaign” from 8-10 May, this was in no way linked to the solar storm or high auroral activity globally.

Scientists at HAARP said they scheduled the May campaign on 16 March 2024, about a month and a half before the geomagnetic storm. In an FAQ posted online, they said: “The timing was purely coincidental; geomagnetic storms are unpredictable, with lead times before a solar event measured in minutes, not months.”

Some posts linking HAARP’s activity to the aurora borealis included notices HAARP published about the May campaign. HAARP said these are released with all campaigns to “promote citizen science collaborations” and highlighted that the May campaign “supported research proposals studying mechanisms for the detection of orbiting space debris” not creating aurora borealis. 

HAARP explained the Northern Lights seen that weekend were “produced solely by a severe geomagnetic storm that was produced by our sun” and not by its research.

HAARP also highlighted that coronal mass ejections, like the one associated with the recent geomagnetic storm, “typically release more than 10^24 Joules of energy”. By comparison, the high- frequency transmitter at HAARP is only a ~3 megawatt transmitter and “would take HAARP over 10 billion years to produce enough energy to affect this naturally occurring phenomenon”. 

What is the aurora borealis?

Jim Wild, Professor of Space Physics in the Physics Department at Lancaster University, explained to Full Fact that the Northern Lights are caused by the electromagnetic connection between the sun and earth. 

He explained that a stream of magnetised and electrically charged subatomic particles is constantly being carried from the sun by the ‘solar wind’ and when these particles leak into the earth’s magnetosphere—the region of space dominated by the earth’s magnetic field—some of this energy accelerates particles towards the earth. Energy is passed from the incoming particles to the earth’s oxygen and nitrogen particles, making them excited but unstable. The atoms de-excite by releasing photons of light, which is what creates the aurora.

Professor Wild explained: “Earth’s magnetic field normally funnels the sub-atomic particles from space into the polar regions, which is why the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are typically seen in the Arctic. During the months of the year when there are dark nights, it is not unusual to see some auroral activity every night at high latitude.”

Why were the Northern Lights visible in more places than usual?

Professor Wild told us that to see the Northern Lights at lower latitudes, the conditions that drive them need to be dialled up much higher. 

He said: “Typically, this happens when an explosion of solar material, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), engulfs the Earth. This can trigger a geomagnetic storm that pushes the aurora equatorward. Typically, this happens a couple of times a year, but the sun has a natural 11-year cycle of activity and CMEs are more common around the maximum activity part of the cycle. 

“As it happens, that’s where we are now and over the last week, an active region on the solar surface has been firing one CME out after another.”

How is HAARP different?

HAARP can generate artificial aurora using high powered radio waves. 

“Instead of atmospheric gas atoms being excited by the impact of an electron raining down from space, they are excited when energy transfers from the HAARP radio wave to the atoms,” Professor Wild explained. “They then release light as they de-excite.”

He noted that the energy naturally poured into Earth’s atmosphere during a large geomagnetic storm that results in auroral displays like the recent one is estimated to be 5,000 gigawatts (5,000 billion watts). And although HAARP is a powerful radio transmitter, it can’t transmit nearly as much energy as that.

Of HAARP’s ability to generate artificial aurora, he said: “this produces very faint optical emissions, usually not bright enough to see. Also, the nature of its antennas means that the beam required to focus that energy into a small region of the sky can only be steered very slightly around the sky, and always above the transmitter site.”

HAARP has previously successfully run experiments that produce artificial “airglow”. But an FAQ on HAARP’s website stresses that the energy the facility generates is not strong enough to produce the optical display seen during a natural aurora.

Full Fact corroborated this with other scientists including Dr Ciaran Beggan at the British Geological Society, who explained “it is simply not feasible to generate that amount of energy on the ground and transmit it into [the] atmosphere in order to cover a large fraction of the northern hemisphere”.

Professor Don Pollacco, a physicist at the University of Warwick also noted “there is no way what we saw at the weekend was produced by HAARP—it is not capable enough,” while Dr Darren Baskill, lecturer in physics and astronomy at the University of Sussex, also highlighted the huge amount of energy required to generate the displays across the globe needs “a far greater amount of power that is available to the small HAARP project”. 

We’ve written about HAARP before and how it isn’t responsible for peculiar clouds. Other false claims that have previously spread about the facility include that it caused natural disasters after being “tested on” specific countries. People have been making similarly false claims for over a decade.

Image courtesy of Stein Egil Liland

This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because HAARP did not cause the aurora borealis witnessed in many parts of the world in early May 2024.

• By Sian Bayley