Trump ally warns Keir Starmer US will ‘crush’ UK economic system if Britain helps arrest Benjamin Netanyahu

The United States will ‘crush’ the UK economy if Britain helps arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, following an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Prime Minister Keir Starmer that those who follow the ICC’s ruling could expect sharp economic consequences from the US.

‘Any nation or organization that aids or abets this outrage should expect to meet firm resistance from the United States, and I look forward to working with President Trump, his team, and my colleagues in Congress to come up with a powerful response,’ he said.

Unlike the United States and Israel, Britain is a member of the International Criminal Court and is obliged to act on arrest warrants it issues.

A spokesperson for No10 refused to comment on the specific case, but said this week the government would hypothetically fulfil its ‘legal obligations’.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, citing alleged war crimes in Gaza.

‘If you are going to help the ICC as a nation and force the arrest warrant against Bibi and Gallant…I will put sanctions on you as a nation,’ Senator Graham, himself a lawyer by training, told FOX News.

‘What they’re doing in Israel is trying to prevent a second Holocaust. So, to any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re gonna sanction you,’ the South Carolina senator added.

Asked what such sanctions could look like, he said: ‘We should crush your economy because we’re next…Why can’t they go after Trump or any other American president?’

The ruling has been controversial and split western leaders. Some have outright said they would not abide by their legal obligation to make an arrest.

US President Joe Biden, not a member of the court, slammed what he called the ‘outrageous’ arrest warrant, reiterating support for Israel.

Britain, along with many allies, has stressed the precedence of binding international law while noting the importance of continued dialogue with Israel. 

A spokesperson for Downing Street said this week that the British government respected the court and refused to rule out that Netanyahu could be arrested if he landed on British soil.

He said: ‘We respect the independence of the ICC.’

No10 added there was no ‘moral equivalence’ between the democratically elected leader of Israel and terrorist leaders, and that Israel has a right to defend itself.

The ICC warrant would, nevertheless, need to be ratified by a UK court before it becomes valid, it is understood.

He insisted that the government stands by the obligations it agreed to via the International Criminal Court Act 2001, saying it would ‘always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law’.

The spokesman added that it was ‘obviously important that we’ still maintain ‘a dialogue with Israel on all levels’, however.

The spokesperson described Israel as a ‘key partner across a range of areas’. 

Last month the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, told MPs Labour ‘continues to support the ICC’, adding: ‘Both the ICC and the ICJ should be able to go about their work unfettered by political intervention.’

Theoretically, the warrant means that if Netanyahu or Gallant were to travel to any of the 120 counties party to the court, they could be arrested.

Several governments have already expressed caution, while others – including the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Austria – have insisted they respect the court and will follow the law, however much they may disagree with it.

Austria, for one, said they found the ruling ‘utterly incomprehensible’ but said its authorities would have no choice but to make an arrest as ‘international law is nonnegotiable and applies everywhere’. 

Germany has taken a more hesitant approach, suggesting it will carefully examine the ICC’s warrants but not take further steps until a visit to Germany is planned.

‘I find it hard to imagine that we would make arrests on this basis,’ said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Friday, pointing out that legal questions had to be clarified regarding the warrant. 

He did not specify what those questions entailed and did not answer when asked whether Netanyahu would be welcome in Germany.

The German government’s position on weapons deliveries to Israel has not changed following the arrest warrants and are still subject to a case-by-case assessment, he added.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on the sidelines of the COP29 climate summit in Baku that Germany respected the ICC’s work and adhered to the law at national, European and international levels.

‘Whether the Israeli prime minister will enter the European Union is a hypothetical question. But we are now examining exactly how we will deal with it,’ she told broadcaster RTL/ntv in an interview.

Netanyahu was last in Germany in March 2023, and no visits are currently planned between the two countries.

Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also cited Germany’s historical responsibility for what it sees as its special support of Israel.

‘The German government was involved in the drafting of the ICC statute and is one of the biggest supporters of the ICC – this attitude is also the result of German history,’ said Hebestreit.

‘At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations and a great responsibility with Israel.’

Netanyahu’s office has described the charges in a statement on Thursday as ‘absurd and false lies’, claiming the judges who issued the warrant were ‘motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel’.