David Lammy has said he would seek an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited the UK.
The Foreign Secretary said he would be obliged by law to go to the courts seeking permission for the arrest, saying he had no “discretion” over the issue.
The position is a stark contrast to France which became the latest Western country to say they would not arrest the Israeli prime minister, leaving Britain isolated among its G7 allies.
Last week the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which Britain is a member, issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli leader, Yoav Gallant, his defence minister, and Mohammed Deif, a Hamas leader.
Mr Lammy, however, appeared to suggest that the courts may not enforce the arrest warrant because of Britain’s obligations to provide immunity to diplomatic figures under the Rome Statute.
When asked about the Government’s position before the foreign affairs select committee, Mr Lammy said: “Under section two of the ICC legislation, there is an obligation on me to transmit to the courts should those named seek to come into our country.
“That doesn’t allow me any discretion: I will issue that to the courts and then the courts will make their determination under our law, recognising that we are signatories for the Statute of Rome [which provides diplomatic figures with immunity].”
The ICC judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Mr Netanyahu, Mr Gallant and Mr Deif bore “criminal responsibility” for actions during the war between Israel and Hamas.
However, the arrest warrants for the Israeli politicians have split Europe – where countries are signatories to the ICC – and the US, which is not.
On Wednesday, the French foreign ministry made it clear that it would not arrest Mr Netanyahu, saying the Israeli leader was covered by immunity rules that apply to states which are not a party to the ICC.
Joe Biden, the US president, meanwhile said the ICC arrest warrant was “outrageous”. He added: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
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