UK Police Reopen War Crimes Case Against British Nationals Who Served in Israel's Genocide in GazaThe Metropolitan Police has reopened a war crimes case into British nationals who served in Israel's genocide in Gaza, reversing its refusal to investigate after being threatened with judicial review.The Metropolitan Police has reversed its decision to close a war crimes investigation into British nationals who fought for Israel during the genocide in Gaza, according to an investigation by Declassified UK.
The case began with a 240-page referral submitted in August 2025 by the Public Interest Law Centre and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. It alleged that ten UK nationals, including dual citizens, had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity while serving with Israeli occupation forces in Gaza. The allegations included wilful killing, extermination, attacking civilians, and the deportation or forcible transfer of a population.
The Met first narrowed its focus to four identifiable British nationals, then told the claimants in April 2026 that it would not pursue any criminal investigation at all, saying an effective investigation could not be carried out and that there was no realistic prospect of conviction.
That position has now collapsed. In correspondence with the Public Interest Law Centre last week, the force announced it was withdrawing its earlier decision and would carry out "a fresh scoping exercise" into the four British nationals. Such exercises are conducted by the Met's war crimes team, which sits within Counter Terrorism Command, to determine whether a full investigation should follow.
The reversal came after British-Palestinian human rights campaigner Lubna Speitan, represented by the Public Interest Law Centre, threatened judicial review proceedings against the force. In a pre-action letter, her lawyers argued that the Met had wrongly applied its own policy and had failed to take account of relevant considerations, including the full range of evidential avenues available to investigators.
Human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield KC, who supported the original referral, said allegations of war crimes must be investigated regardless of the nationality of those accused or the political sensitivities surrounding the conflict, and welcomed the decision to revisit the earlier conclusion as an opportunity for a fresh and independent assessment
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