Israel was surprised recently by reports on the final decision of the British government today (Friday) to lift the previous government's objections to the Hague regarding an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
However, winds of change arrived less than a month ago, as for the first time since 2010, the Conservative government found itself at a low point and was thrown into the opposition and the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer returned to power after years in the opposition wilderness.
Starmer, unlike his predecessor as Labour leader, the anti-Semite Jeremy Corbyn, made sure to clean the party of anti-Semitism, which also led to loss of votes to fairly extreme independent candidates.
Throughout the first months of the war, he refused to call for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip despite criticism, and many accused him of being pro-Israel due to the fact that he is married to a Jewish woman.
But every coin has two sides. Starmer entered the political arena after a long and illustrious legal career, with his last legal role being the Director of Public Prosecutions in the UK.
His past as a human rights expert and author of a book on the subject clearly showed his approach to international law.
One of the early expressions of this could be seen over the weekend when he decided to lift London’s objections to the Hague decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Starmer chose professionals for various fields, but one of the prominent ones is Richard Hermer, a Jewish lawyer and an old friend of the new Prime Minister.
Hermer was surprisingly appointed as the legal advisor, with his expertise being human rights - indicating the new government's intention to respect every decision of international legal institutions, which led to the move to remove the objection regarding Gallant and Netanyahu.
Hermer has worked in many areas within human rights law and is considered esteemed in his field, receiving praise even from the British right-wing which, to say the least, is less likely to connect with the decision regarding Gallant and Netanyahu. Hermer himself did not hide his positions on the importance of international law.
Weeks after the outbreak of the war, Hermer was among the lawyers who signed a document calling on Israel to comply with international law in response to the October 7th massacre.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak placed the objection regarding Netanyahu and Gallant and argued that the court’s decision was "ineffective".
In response, Hermer said, "The court should be able to reach its decision in due course. I support the court, and I support international law."
Recently, Hermer opposed a decision preventing local authorities from boycotting Israel and argued that it harmed freedom of expression.
In the past, he responded to accusations that he was acting maliciously against Israel and claimed that these were his legal positions, but many of his family members live in Israel and serve in the IDF.
Conversely, pro-Palestinian elements argue that Hermer should take a tougher stance towards Israel - as many in Britain will closely follow the legal positions of London on lawsuits against senior Israeli officials in the coming period.