The Metropolitan Police has withdrawn its decision not to investigate allegations that British nationals committed war crimes while serving with the Israeli army in Gaza, following a legal challenge brought by a British-Palestinian human rights campaigner.
The reversal means that the force's previous decision no longer stands and its War Crimes Team will conduct a fresh assessment of the evidence relating to four identifiable British nationals.
British-Palestinian campaigner Lubna Speitan challenged the decision with the assistance of the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC). Lawyers sent the Metropolitan Police a detailed letter before action threatening judicial-review proceedings over its handling of the case.
The original referral was submitted by PILC and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on April, 2025. It alleged that ten British nationals had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity while taking part in Israeli military operations in Gaza.
After reviewing the evidence, the Metropolitan Police narrowed its focus to four identifiable British nationals. However, on 27 April, 2026, the War Crimes Team informed the organisations that it would not open a criminal investigation, claiming that the available evidence was insufficient.
PILC challenged that conclusion, arguing that the police had failed to consider the full range of investigative avenues available to them and had effectively demanded evidence capable of securing a conviction before opening an investigation.
The force has now formally withdrawn its decision and agreed to carry out a fresh scoping exercise. Such an exercise allows the War Crimes Team, which sits within the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, SO15, to determine whether the evidence justifies a full criminal investigation.Â
PILC described the reversal as an important procedural step, stressing that the original refusal no longer stands and that the allegations must now be reconsidered afresh.
“We welcome the Metropolitan Police's withdrawal of its previous decision and [its decision] to undertake a fresh scoping exercise,†said PILC legal director Paul Heron.
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“This is an important and responsible step which recognises that the earlier decision should no longer stand.â€
“These allegations concern some of the gravest crimes known to international law,†Heron added. “Where there are identifiable British nationals alleged to have participated in such crimes, it is essential that investigative decisions are taken on the fullest evidential basis possible.â€
Heron went on the explain that the goal of the litigation was never intended to be “for its own sake,â€Â and that the aim is to “work constructively with the Metropolitan Police and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights to identify further evidence wherever it exists and to ensure that every reasonable investigative avenue is properly explored before any fresh decision is reached.â€
Human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield KC, who supported the referral, said that allegations of war crimes must be examined without regard to the nationality of the suspects or the political sensitivities surrounding Israel's assault on Gaza.
“The rule of law depends upon its equal application,†Mansfield stressed. “The Metropolitan Police's decision to revisit its earlier conclusion is therefore to be welcomed. It provides an opportunity for a fresh and independent assessment based upon all available evidence. That is precisely what justice requires.â€
The reversal comes amid growing pressure on British authorities to investigate UK citizens who served in the Israeli military during its assault on Gaza.
Figures obtained from the Israeli army showed that at least 2,069 British nationals had served in its ranks since October 2023. They included 1,686 British-Israeli citizens, 383 people holding British, Israeli and another nationality and 54 “lone soldiers
More than 60 politicians, lawyers, military figures and human rights advocates subsequently backed a campaign calling on the government to track British nationals who served in the Israeli army, screen returning soldiers at ports of entry and support independent war-crimes investigations.
The signatories included Green Party leader Zack Polanski, Labour MP Diane Abbott, genocide scholar Prof Martin Shaw, former British Army Major General Charlie Herbert, Mansfield and anti-apartheid campaigner Andrew Feinstein.Â
The renewed assessment is part of a wider international effort to use national courts and universal-jurisdiction mechanisms to pursue Israeli and dual-national suspects accused of crimes against Palestinians.
A legal coalition launched in 2025 said it was preparing complaints, arrest applications and possible private prosecutions across numerous jurisdictions, including cases involving British citizens suspected of joining the Israeli army or committing offences in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.Â
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