Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face arrest upon entering Britain following Thursday’s issuance of an international arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him, Downing Street indicated on Friday, according to the PA Media news agency.
While Number 10 avoided commenting on “hypotheticals,” it affirmed that the UK would adhere to its “legal obligations.”
Asked if Netanyahu would be detained upon arrival in Britain, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson declined to address individual cases but emphasized, “The UK will always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law.”
The British government noted that no ICC-related arrests had previously been processed in the UK due to the absence of such individuals entering the country. Addressing whether the International Criminal Court Act 2001 would be upheld, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed, “Yes, the Government would fulfill its obligations under the Act and indeed its legal obligations.”
The legislation requires the Secretary of State to transmit ICC arrest requests to an appropriate judicial officer. However, Number 10 did not clarify which Cabinet minister would handle such a process. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated, “It’s not a matter for me,” adding that the ICC operates independently and deserves respect for its role.
Should Netanyahu enter the UK, a domestic court process would be necessary before any potential arrest, noted PA Media.
Britain’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel criticized the warrants as “concerning and provocative,” urging the Government to “condemn” the ICC’s actions. She accused the court of drawing a “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, and called on the Labour administration to challenge the decision.
US President Joe Biden condemned the ICC decision on Thursday.
“The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” stated Biden.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that the administration rejects the ICC decision and disagrees with other countries that accepted the decision.
"We are not going to be executing any arrest warrants, that is not something we are going to do from here," she stated.
She noted that the US believes the process was flawed and explained: "In contrast to how he (the prosecutor) has treated others, including (Venezuelan President) Nicolás Maduro and his associates, he failed to provide Israel with a meaningful opportunity to engage constructively and to properly consider its domestic processes. This calls into question the credibility of the prosecutor's investigation and the decision today.
Jean-Pierre added that "we believe, and we've been clear, that the ICC does not have the jurisdiction over this matter. So we've been very clear about that and that stance has not changed."
Netanyahu published a statement in English condemning the International Criminal Court's decision.
"The antisemitic decision of the international court in The Hague is a modern Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way. One hundred and thirty years ago, the French Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason by a biased French court. In response to these false accusations, the great French writer Émile Zola wrote his monumental essay, J’Accuse. He accused the French court of antisemitic lies against an innocent officer, who was later exonerated of all guilt,” he said.
"Now, an international court in The Hague, also headed by a French judge, is repeating this outrageous offense. It is falsely accusing me, the democratically elected prime minister of the State of Israel and Israel’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant, of deliberately targeting civilians, this when we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties," Netanyahu stated.
He continued, "We issue millions of text messages, phone calls, leaflets to the citizens of Gaza to get them out of harm's way – while the Hamas terrorists do everything in their power to keep them in harm’s way, including shooting them, using them as human shields.”
"The court in The Hague accuses us of a deliberate policy of starvation. This, when we have supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza. That’s 3,200 calories for every man, woman, and child in Gaza. And these supplies are routinely looted by Hamas terrorists, who deprive their people of much-needed food.”
"Yet just in the last few weeks, Israel facilitated the vaccination of 97 percent of the people of Gaza against polio. This doesn’t prevent the court from accusing us of genocide.”
The Prime Minister wondered: "What in God’s name are they talking about in The Hague? The truth is simple. No war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza after Hamas attacked us unprovoked, launching the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)