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Yvette Cooper has refused to say whether Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to the UK, despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
The home secretary said “there are proper processes that need to be followed”, adding that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the home secretary “to comment on individual cases in a speculative way”.
On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defence minister, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The ICC also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’ armed wing, over the October 7 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
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Israel is believed to have killed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never confirmed his death.
Asked to confirm whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived in the UK, the home secretary said: “That’s not a matter for me as home secretary as the International Criminal Court is, of course, independent, and we respect its independence and the role that it has to play.”
“In the overwhelming majority of international criminal court investigations, they never become a matter for either the British law enforcement processes or for the British government.
“In any case, whether they ever do, there are proper processes that need to be followed, and therefore it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on those”, she told Sky News.
Pressed on the issue, Ms Cooper said: “We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court. That has long been our case.
“But as I’ve said… there are important processes that need to be followed, and that’s why it wouldn’t be appropriate for me as the home secretary, to comment on individual cases in a speculative way”.
She added that the government believes the “focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza”.
A domestic court process would be required before Mr Netanyahu faced arrest if he set foot in the UK.
Downing Street said the government respects the independence of the ICC after the warrants were issued.
The PM’s official spokesperson said the court, based in The Hague, was “the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern”.
But No 10 refused to be drawn on whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to Britain, saying they “can’t get into hypotheticals”.
The spokesperson also said Sir Keir Starmer will continue to speak to Mr Netanyahu “in order to conduct the essential business of reaching a ceasefire in the Middle East”.
The issuing of warrants for the Israeli prime minister and ex-defence minister along with a Hamas leader, led to critics claiming the court was drawing a moral equivalence between the government of a democracy and a group banned as a terrorist organisation in many countries, including the UK.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the warrants were “concerning and provocative”, calling for the government to “condemn and challenge” the ICC ruling.
She criticised the ICC for drawing comparisons between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist atrocity on October 7, 2023, which triggered the military response.
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On Thursday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “This government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law.
“There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organisations.
“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza which is essential to protect civilians, ensure the release of hostages, and to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
The ICC said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant were responsible for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
The ICC pre-trial chamber also found “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
However, the impact of the warrants is likely to be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the ICC.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions” and “there is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza”.
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