British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has signaled its readiness to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the UK, a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli leader, the Financial Times reports, UNN writes.
Details
When the Financial Times asked the British government about the arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Starmer's spokesman replied that the government "will always comply with its legal obligations under domestic law as well as international law.
However, Starmer's spokesperson emphasized that the government does not comment on hypothetical situations.
This statement came after Germany made it clear that it would not comply with the arrest warrant issued by the ICC, which was the first precedent of its kind for a Western leader.
Germany, according to the newspaper, in view of its historical responsibility to Israel, expressed doubt about the possibility of executing the warrant. "It is difficult for us to imagine that we will make arrests on this basis," said German government spokesman Steffen Gebestreit, emphasizing the ‘unique relationship’ with Israel.
The warrant obliges 124 ICC member states, including most European, Latin American, African and Asian countries, to detain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Galant if they appear on their territory.
However, the execution of the warrants depends on the member states, as the ICC itself does not have mechanisms for their enforcement.
Netanyahu's office called the warrants anti-Semitic, and the court itself "a biased and discriminatory political body.
Under the 2001 British law, the Foreign Secretary is obliged to forward ICC warrants to law enforcement agencies, which must act if there are grounds to believe the warrant is valid. However, representatives of the British government, in particular Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, avoid making unequivocal statements, citing the need to follow procedures.
Other European countries, such as Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Ireland, have confirmed their readiness to fulfill their obligations to the ICC, the publication points out.
At the same time, Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, invited Netanyahu to visit.
Recall
On November 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.