Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested if he travels to the UK, after an international arrest warrant was issued for him, Downing Street has said.
A Number 10 spokesman declined to comment on specific cases but said the government would fulfill its “legal obligations”.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Netanyahualong with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The court’s member states, including the UK, have signed a treaty obligating them to act on arrest warrants.
When asked whether Netanyahu would be detained if he entered the UK, the prime minister’s official spokesman refused to comment on “hypotheticals”.
However, he added: “The Government will carry out its obligations under the act and indeed its legal obligations.”
This refers to the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which states that if a court issues an arrest warrant, a designated minister “shall refer the request…to a judicial officer appropriate”, who, if satisfied the order appears to have been issued by the ICC, “will confirm the order of execution in the UK”.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister confirmed the government complied with the process outlined in the act and would “at all times comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic and international law”.
He could not confirm which foreign secretary would be involved in the process and did not respond to questions about whether the government was seeking legal advice from Attorney General Lord Hermer – the Kingdom’s top lawyer You – related to the incident or not.
Generally, arrest warrants and extradition requests from around the world must be sent to a special team within the Home Office for background checks before they are carried out.
UK law on the ICC says that the courts have the final say on whether the arrest and “handover” of suspects should proceed.
When asked if the Prime Minister was still willing to talk to Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said “it is clearly important that we have a dialogue with Israel at all levels”, describing the country is “an important partner in many fields”.
Last month, Lord Hermer told the BBC that he would not let political considerations influence his conclusions if the ICC issued an arrest warrant.
“My advice [on an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu] would be legal advice, based on analysis of the law,” he said.
“A lawyer has no right to dictate what the government chooses to do. The lawyer’s role is to provide courageous legal advice about what the law requires, what the law is about, and where the law will take you.” to where. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
After the arrest warrant was issued on Thursday, Downing Street said the British government respected the independence of the ICC and remained focused on promoting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the military commander of Hamas, who Israel says was killed in July, for alleged war crimes related to the October 7, 2023 attacks. aimed at Israel.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel criticized the ICC for drawing “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the October 7 attacks.
She called on the government to “condemn and challenge” the court’s decision, describing it as “disturbing and provocative”.
After winning power, the new Labor government scrapped its predecessor’s plan to challenge the ICC’s power to issue arrest warrants, saying it was a matter for judges to decide.
The impact of the orders will depend on whether the court’s 124 member states – which do not include Israel or its ally the United States – decide to enforce them.
US President Joe Biden called the arrest order for the Israeli Prime Minister “outrageous”says there is “no equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
However, officials from several European countries issued statements siding with the court and said they would implement the court’s decision.
Both Israel and Hamas rejected the ICC charges, with Netanyahu branding the order “anti-Semitic”.
Netanyahu condemned the ICC decision as “anti-Semitic”. Hamas did not mention Deif’s arrest warrant but welcomed the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the BBC that the ICC’s decision “is the formalization of an accusation, not a verdict”.
He told the Sunday program with Laura Kuenssberg: “We also said that we condemned, in [the] as strongly as possible, the reality is that humanitarian assistance has not been able to reach the people of Gaza while the situation is so dire.
“However, we cannot draw any form of equivalence between the Hamas leaders who have been targeted by the ICC and the Israeli government under arrest warrants.”
