UK’s place on ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu as US rejects orders

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant has been issued for Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes – but what is the UK’s position?

The decision to issue an arrest warrant to the Israeli prime minister, as well as Israel’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, is of momentous significance. It is the first time that leaders of a democracy and Western-aligned state have ever been charged by the court in its 22-year history.

The UK is a signatory of the ICC. While the Netherlands-based court cannot enforce arrests, signatory states are obliged to apprehend those facing warrants. It means the men are now at risk of arrest if they travel to any of the 124 countries that signed the statute establishing the court.

Israel claims to have killed Deif in an airstrike in July, but the court’s pre-trial chamber said it would “continue to gather information” to confirm his death. For Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, the court found reasonable grounds to believe they each bear criminal responsibility for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

The three-judge panel also said it had found reasonable grounds to believe Mr Deif was responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes. They included murder, torture, rape and hostage-taking.

The Mirror has summed up how the UK has responded to the ICC’s arrest warrants.

What has No10 said?

On Thursday, not long after the ICC announced its decision, Downing Street would not say whether Mr Netanyahu would be detained were he to visit the UK.

When asked whether Britain would obey the warrant, Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “We are not going to get into hypotheticals. We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence.”

However, No10 did maintain its support of the ICC and said the Government respected the independence of the international court. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the court, based in The Hague, was “the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern”.

While supporting the ICC, the spokesman also echoed critics claiming the court was drawing a moral equivalence between the government of a democracy and a group banned as a terrorist organisation in many countries, including the UK. He said: “This Government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organisations.

“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza which is essential to protect civilians, ensure the release of hostages, and to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

A domestic court process would be required before Mr Netanyahu faced arrest if he set foot in the UK.

Have any government ministers said anything?

On Friday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refused to say whether Mr Netanyahu would face arrest if he came to the UK. She said there are “proper Government processes that need to be followed” if International Criminal Court investigations ever become an issue for the UK.

Asked whether she will be seeking an arrest warrant if the Government decided to enforce the ICC decision, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Times Radio: “No, as I said there are proper legal processes.” She added: “There are proper Government processes that need to be followed if International Criminal Court investigations ever become a matter for the UK. In the vast majority of processes, in the vast majority of cases they never do. So those are not issues that it’s appropriate for me to comment on.”

More widely, Ms Cooper said: “What I can say is that obviously we’ve always respected the independence of the International Criminal Court, but those issues are that they investigate our matters for them rather than for the government. And our government position remains, our focus remains on pushing for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East.”

What have other UK politicians said?

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the warrants were “concerning and provocative”. She criticised the ICC for drawing a “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist atrocity on October 7, 2023, which triggered the military response. She said: “The Labour Government must condemn and challenge the ICC’s decision.”

Before the election in July, Tory ministers had been considering lodging a legal challenge to the issuing of arrest warrants, but the Labour administration dropped that idea, saying it was a matter for the court to rule on.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said: “The previous Conservative government denigrated the International Criminal Court and undermined the UK’s standing on the world stage. It is vital that the new Government complies with our obligations under international law by committing to upholding this ruling, including enforcing arrest warrant.”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his Independent Alliance group of MPs wrote to Sir Keir urging him to confirm the UK would enforce the arrest warrants. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts and Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer also urged an end to UK arms sales to Israel.

What have other countries around the world said?

Last night, the US, which is not a member of the ICC, fiercely denounced the decision. A White House National Security Council spokesman said: “The United States fundamentally rejects the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.” They added: “The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter.”

Last year US president Joe Biden welcomed the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said it was “justified,” adding: “But the question is – [the ICC is] not recognised internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”

In Europe, Italy and the Netherlands have said they would arrest any of the men if they visit their countries.

What has Israel said?

Mr Netanyahu immediately denounced the ICC’s decision as “anti-Semitic”. His spokesman said: “Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of [the ICC], a biased and discriminatory political body.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called it “a dark day for justice and humanity”, saying the decision had “chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom”.

Meanwhile Hamas welcomed the decision, but did not comment on the issue of a warrant being issues for its own military commander, Mr Deif. In a statement it said: “We call on all countries around the world to cooperate with the court in bringing the Zionist war criminals, Netanyahu and Gallant and to work immediately to stop the crimes of genocide against defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip.