Britain and Ireland on Friday indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant if he travels to those countries, as Israel and allies, including the United States and Hungary, rejected the top court’s decision to issue warrants for the premier and his former defense minister.
Other Western countries also said they would comply with the ICC’s decision, announced Thursday, to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
“The UK will always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said on Friday.
Asked directly whether Netanyahu would be arrested, the spokesman said he would not “talk about specific cases.”
The UK is one of the 124 ICC member states from which Netanyahu and Gallant are effectively banned. Israel and the US, neither of which are members of the court, have slammed the motion to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had announced in May that he was seeking the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders who have since been killed. At the time, the US administration assailed Khan, saying he had failed to provide Israel with the opportunity to investigate the claims.
Earlier on Friday, Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris said Netanyahu would be detained if he arrived there.
Asked by state broadcaster RTE if Ireland would arrest the Israeli prime minister if he came to Ireland, Harris said: “Yes, absolutely.”
“We support international courts and we apply their warrants,” he added.
Relations between Ireland and Israel have deteriorated since Dublin recognized a Palestinian state last May, a move that prompted Israel to recall its ambassador.
Ireland’s foreign minister Micheal Martin said Friday he disagreed with US President Joe Biden’s depiction of the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant as “outrageous,” asserting that war crimes have been committed in Gaza.
“It’s a collective punishment of the people… it’s genocidal,” he said.
But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban joined the US in voicing support for Israel, inviting Netanyahu to Budapest for an official visit in a letter that vowed he would ensure the premier’s “safety and freedom.”
Orban said in the letter that Hungary — which is a member of the ICC — “strongly condemns this disgraceful decision,” which he said would have “no impact whatsoever” on the bilateral relationship.
“In the face of the embarrassing weakness of those who took the side of the outrageous decision against Israel’s right to self-defense,” Netanyahu said in response, “Hungary, like our friends in the US, displays moral clarity and takes a stand for justice and truth.”
Meanwhile, the Kan broadcaster reported on Friday that the incoming Trump administration was making plans for punitive actions against the ICC over its decision to issue the warrants, citing sources in Washington.
The anonymous sources told Kan that the transition team was looking at introducing personal sanctions against the ICC chief prosecutor, as well as the judges who issued the warrants.
On Thursday, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for national security adviser Mike Waltz tweeted, “You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and UN come January.”
In more neutral statements, Germany and France both commented on the warrants without confirming or denying whether they would uphold the ICC ruling.
A German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin would carefully examine the warrants, but would take no further steps unless a visit was planned.
“The German government was involved in the drafting of the ICC statute and is one of the biggest supporters of the ICC — this attitude is also the result of German history,” the spokesperson said. “At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations and a great responsibility with Israel.”
Paris said it had taken note of the decision, also without specifying if Netanyahu or Gallant would be arrested if they entered French territory.
“France takes note of this decision. True to its long-standing commitment to supporting international justice, it reiterates its attachment to the independent work of the court,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Israel’s counteroffensive has killed more than 44,000 people, according to the Hamas health ministry. The figure cannot be independently verified and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, of whom Israel says it has killed at least 17,000 in Gaza, in addition to about 1,000 inside Israel during the onslaught.
The ICC accuses Netanyahu and Gallant — whom the prime minister fired earlier this month — of targeting civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war. The court on Thursday also issued a warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed by an IDF strike in Gaza in July.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.