Downing Street confirms the UK’s commitment to upholding the ICC’s arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister.
A Downing Street spokesperson indicated that a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UK would likely result in his arrest, in accordance with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant. The ICC issued the warrant on Thursday, charging Netanyahu with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict. Israel and the US have condemned the ICC’s action.
“The UK is legally bound to comply with both domestic and international law,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated on Friday.
However, the spokesperson noted that the UK has never previously enforced an ICC arrest warrant due to a lack of prior instances where an indicted individual visited the country.
Earlier, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declined to comment directly on the warrant, citing the ICC’s independence.
“We’ve always respected international law, but most ICC cases don’t become part of British legal proceedings,” she told Sky News. “Our government’s priority remains achieving a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Labour MP Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, offered a more definitive statement.
“The Rome Statute obligates us to arrest Netanyahu should he enter Britain,” Thornberry stated. “As an ICC member, we are required to act on the warrant.”
Netanyahu’s office denounced the ICC’s actions as “absurd and false.” The US National Security Council expressed “deep concern” over “troubling process errors” leading to the warrant’s issuance.
Several European nations—the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, and Norway—have indicated their willingness to comply with the warrant. France acknowledged the warrant’s legitimacy but suggested practical legal challenges to arresting Netanyahu.
Conversely, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán extended an invitation to Netanyahu, asserting the warrant’s ineffectiveness within Hungary, an EU and NATO member state.