UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has backed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
This comes after the Hague-based court issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the leader of Hamas.
Britain, along with 123 other members of the ICC, will now be obliged to detain Netanyahu ‘on sight’ under international law.
A spokesperson for Downing Street said the Government respected the court and refused to rule out he would be arrested if he landed on British soil – comments which have been widely interpreted as supportive of the decision.
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.
The warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant focus on allegations Israel has used food as a weapon in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, a charge Israeli officials deny.
Experts have warned that hunger has become widespread across Gaza and may have reached famine levels in the north of the territory, which is under siege by Israeli troops.
The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children.
Netanyahu condemned the arrest warrant against him, saying Israel ‘rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions’ by the court. In a statement released by his office, he said: ‘There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza.’
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and could further isolate them, as well as complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire.
‘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,’ the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said when asked if the UK would obey the warrant.
