The British government has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face arrest if he travels to the UK, after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
It is pertinent to mention that the court’s member countries, including the UK, have signed a treaty that obliges them to act on arrest warrants.
When were arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu?
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, along with Israel’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Asked whether Netanyahu would be detained if he entered the UK, the prime minister’s official spokesman refused to comment on “hypotheticals”.
However, he added: “The government would fulfil its obligations under the act and indeed its legal obligations.”
The PM’s spokesman confirmed the government stands by the process outlined in the act and would “always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law”.
Generally, arrest warrants and extradition requests from around the world must be sent to a special team in the Home Office for basic checks before they are acted on.
The UK’s legislation on the ICC says that the courts have the final say on whether an arrest and “delivery” of a suspect should go ahead.
Asked whether the PM was still willing to talk to Netanyahu, the PM’s spokesman said it was “obviously important that we have a dialogue with Israel on all levels”, describing the country as “a key partner across a range of areas”.
