London confirms Netanyahu faces arrest in UK, Germany defies ICC warrants citing 'Nazi history'
NATO members have been divided by the landmark ICC ruling, with several confirming they would enforce the arrest warrants while the US threatens sanctions against prosecutors in The Hague
The British government says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he travels to the UK as officials confirmed on 23 November that London would fulfill its "legal obligations" as a signatory to the Rome Statute.
An official spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer told media on Friday that the government "would fulfill its legal obligations under the International Criminal Court (ICC) Act 2001, which states that if the court issues a warrant for arrest, a designated minister "shall transmit the request … to an appropriate judicial officer", who “shall endorse the warrant for execution in the United Kingdom.”
Nevertheless, the spokesman refused to comment on “hypotheticals” when pressed if this meant Netanyahu would be detained if he entered the UK.
The announcement from 10 Downing Street came on the same day that officials in Berlin said Germany would not arrest the Israeli premier if he traveled to the country, citing “its Nazi history.”
“I find it hard to imagine that arrests could be carried out in Germany on this basis,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters.
“We will carefully examine the domestic steps. Any further action would only be taken when a visit [to Germany] by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant is foreseeable,” Hebestreit added.
Israel's allies this week scrambled to respond to the landmark ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes committed in Gaza. While NATO members like the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, and Canada have confirmed they would likely enforce the warrants against Netanyahu, officials in Washington fumed at the move by the ICC and have been threatening the court and any nation who enforces the ruling with everything from sanctions to military action.
“To any ally; Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we're going to sanction you. We should crush your economy. Because we’re next,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally to President-elect Donald Trump, said on Friday.
Trump’s future national security advisor, Mike Waltz, has also threatened "a strong response" to the ICC in January. Other senior officials have called for sanctions against British lawyer Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor and the lead investigator in the investigation.
With its western allies still reeling, the Israeli government is reportedly concerned that more arrest warrants could be issued against senior military figures responsible for the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Israeli media reports, Tel Aviv fears that army chief of staff Herzi Halevi could be next in line and that foreign governments might begin taking steps to “delay or suspend” arms licenses to Israel.
The Israeli cabinet met on Friday to discuss the repercussions of the ICC warrants and “work out mechanisms to derail The Hague’s investigation” by doubling down on the argument that the court does not have the jurisdiction to carry out the case.
Israel’s KAN state broadcaster says officials “hope” the US will “act more forcefully against The Hague.”