British courts would be required to decide whether to enforce an international arrest warrant should Benjamin Netanyahu enter the UK, according to the Government.
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer was repeatedly urged by MPs to give a definitive answer on the UK’s likely action after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Mr Falconer said there is a domestic legal process to be followed through the courts that “determines whether or not to endorse an arrest warrant” by the ICC, adding this has “never been tested” as the UK has yet to be visited by an ICC indictee.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel claimed the “only beneficiaries” of the ICC’s decision are “Hamas and their terrorist sponsors Iran” and said the Conservatives believe the warrants have “no basis in international law”.
In reply to Labour MP Sarah Owen (Luton North), Mr Falconer told the Commons: “I’d like to just be clear that what I have said this afternoon is not that the Government will uphold arrest warrants.
“What I have been clear about this afternoon is that due process will be followed. These are questions for independent courts in the UK, and it is independent courts that would review the arrest warrants if that situation were to arise.”
Responding to an urgent question on the ICC’s decision, Mr Falconer earlier said: “In line with this Government’s stated commitment to the rule of law, we respect the independence of the ICC. We will comply with our international obligations.
“There is a domestic legal process through our independent courts that determines whether or not to endorse an arrest warrant by the ICC, in accordance with the ICC Act of 2001.
“This process has never been tested because the UK has never been visited by an ICC indictee. If there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.
“There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, two terrorist organisations. This Government has been clear, Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law, that right is not under question, and the court’s approval of the warrants last week do not change that.”
For the Conservatives, Dame Priti said: “In charging Israeli leaders alongside Hamas, the ICC appears to be drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s war of self-defence and Hamas terrorism. We utterly reject any moral equivalence.
“The only beneficiaries of this decision are Hamas and their terrorist sponsors Iran, who are now celebrating this propaganda coup as a great victory for Hamas and Hezbollah. Since the ICC decision, we have had dither from ministers and confused messaging and no clarity. So I’m grateful to the minister today for his remarks.
“And as to the issue of warrants, we have raised serious concerns over process, jurisdiction and the position on complementarity principle, and believe the warrants of Mr Netanyahu and Gallant have no basis in international law.”
Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) asked: “Can we be absolutely clear about what the Government is saying, because it seems that the Government is not saying there would be an automatic arrest should Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in this country but that there would be due process?
“And could he confirm that customarily international law does not permit the arrest or the delivering of the serving prime minister of a non-state party to the ICC?
“So he’s committing to due process but he’s not committing to arrest. Am I correct in understanding that?”
Mr Falconer replied: “There’s domestic legal process through our independent courts, we cannot prejudge that process.
“I note that the shadow attorney general has written to the Attorney General on questions of detail in relation to some of the points you allude to and the Attorney General tells me he’ll be writing back on those more detailed points.”
Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) asked the minister to “review all diplomatic, economic and political relations with Israel” to ensure the UK is “not complicit with the atrocities taking place in Gaza, the West Bank and in Lebanon”.
Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) said: “The ICC arrest warrants are welcome but in themselves will not bring an end to Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing and the killing of innocent men, women and children.”
Several MPs, including Labour’s Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy), also repeated calls for the Government to sanction Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Mr Falconer told MPs: “I recognise the two that I’ve been pressed on the most this afternoon are of intense political interest. But despite their intense political interest, were we to prejudge sanctions and trail them in this House before we made them, we would reduce their impact.
“The same is true of the hundreds of sanctions that we have done on Russia over the years and the same in every forum.”
