AN ARREST warrant is urgently being sought for the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who has secretly been in Britain this week.
An Israeli journalist saw Mr Sa’ar boarding a plane to Britain on Monday. The next day, he met Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Confirming the meeting to the Guardian, the Foreign Office said the visit was “private” and that the pair discussed Gaza and other Middle East issues.
NGOs Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), with support from medical doctors, have formally submitted a request to the Attorney General Lord Hermer and Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson seeking their consent to make an application for a warrant.
An application has been prepared for Westminster magistrates court alleging that Mr Sa’ar has aided and abetted torture and grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
The charges focus on the siege of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital at the end of 2024, which culminated in the abduction and torture of the hospital’s director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiyeh.
The human rights groups have also filed a police complaint with the Metropolitan Police.
The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over their war crimes in Gaza.
Israel has killed at least 51,000 Gazans over the past 18 months, and repeatedly blocked humanitarian aid from entering the strip.
Glan director Gearoid O Cuinn said: “Mr Gideon Sa’ar is directly linked to mass death, destruction and suffering in Palestine; we have submitted extensive evidence detailing his role in and awareness of this.
“UK officials are failing to abide by the law by offering handshakes instead of handcuffs — this is why we have asked the courts to urgently step in.”
HRF founder and chair Dyab Abou Jahjah said: “Gideon Sa’ar cannot walk freely in London while Palestinian civilians lie buried under rubble.
“His role in the starvation, displacement and killing of innocent people in Gaza demands accountability. No official title can excuse these atrocities.”
Dr Azra Zyada, a medical doctor who help gather evidence from Gaza, said it is “an opportunity to show that the rule of law matters.”
