“No 10 indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK”

Question 1

1. Main headline

Answer 1

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he travels to the UK, after an international arrest warrant was issued for him, Downing Street has indicated

Question 2

2. Addition to main headline

Answer 2

a No 10 spokesman refused to comment on the specific case but said the government would fulfil its “legal obligations”

Question 3

3. Outline on reason for arrest

Answer 3

• on Thursday last week the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, along with Israel’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza State
• the court’s member countries, including the UK, have signed a treaty that obliges them to act on arrest warrants

Question 4

4. Opinions directly from Israel

Answer 4

• asked whether Netanyahu would be detained if he entered the UK, the PM’s official spokesman refused to comment on “hypotheticals”.
• however, he added: “The government would fulfil its obligations under the act & indeed its legal obligations.”

Question 5

5. What act is being referred to by the spokesman?

Answer 5

• this refers to the International Criminal Court 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, if satisfied the warrant appears to have been issued by the ICC, “shall endorse the warrant for execution in the United Kingdom”.

Question 6

6. Does the UK government agree with the ICC Act 2001?

Answer 6

• the PM’s spokesman confirmed the government stands by the process outlined in the the act & would “always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law & indeed international law”
• however, the spokesman was unable to confirm which secretary of state would be involved in the process & did not answer questions about whether the government was seeking legal advice from Attorney General Lord Hermer - the UK’s top lawyer - in relation to the case

Question 7

7. How are worldwide arrest warrants & extradition requests processed in the UK?

Answer 7

generally, arrest warrants & extradition request from around the world must be sent to a special team in the Home Office for basic checks before they are acted on

Question 8

8. What is the UK’s legislation on the ICC?

Answer 8

the UK’s legislation on the ICC says that the courts have the final say on whether an arrest & “delivery” of a suspect should go ahead

Question 9

9. Additional comment from PM’s spokesman

Answer 9

asked whether the PM was still willing to talk to Netanyahu, the PM’s spokesman said it was “obviously important that we have a dialogue with Israel on all levels”, describing the country as “a key partner across a range of areas”.

Question 10

10. Comment from Lord Hermer

Answer 10

• last month Lord Hermer told the BBC he would not allow political considerations to influence his conclusions if the ICC were to issue an arrest warrant
• he said “My advice [on an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu] would be legal advice, based on analysis of the law,” he said
• “It’s not for the attorney to dictate what a government chooses to do. The role of the attorney is to provide fearless legal advice as to what the law requires, what the contents of the law is, and where the law takes you. And’s that’s what I’m going to do.”

Question 11

11. Comment from Downing Street

Answer 11

following the arrest warrants being issued on Thursday, Downing Street said the UK government respected the ICC’s independence & remained focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Question 12

12. Second significant warrant

Answer 12

the court also issued a warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in July, over alleged war crimes in relation to the 7 October attack against Israel

Question 13

13. Comment from Priti Patel

Answer 13

• Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel criticised the ICC for drawing a “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza & the 7 October attacks
• she called on the government to “condemn and challenge” the court’s decision, describing it as “concerning and provocative”.

Question 14

14. Change in government = change in attitude

Answer 14

after winning power, the new Labour government scrapped its predecessor’s plan to challenge to right of the ICC to issue arrest warrants, saying it was a matter for the judges to decide

Question 15

15. Dependability of the warrants

Answer 15

the impact of the warrants will depend on whether the court’s 124 member states, which do not include Israel or its ally, the US - decide to enforce them or not

Question 16

16. Comment from Biden

Answer 16

Joe Biden has called the arrest warrants will for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”, saying there is “no equivalence” between Israel & Hamas

Question 17

17. Statements for European countries

Answer 17

in spite of Biden’s comments, officials from a number of European countries have made statements standing by the court & said they would implement its decision

Question 18

18. Comments from Israel & Hamas

Answer 18

• both Israel & Hamas reject the allegations made by the ICC, with Netanyahu branding the warrant “antisemitic”
• Netanyahu condemned the ICC’s decision as “antisemitic”
• Hamas made no mention of the warrant for Deif but welcomed the warrants for Netanyahu & Gallant

Question 19

19. Comments from France

Answer 19

• French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has told the BBC that the ICC’s decision “is the formalisation of an accusation, it is by no means a judgement”
• he told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show: “We also say that we’ve condemned [the] strongest possible terms, the fact that humanitarian help has not been able to reach civil populations in Gaza while the situation is catastrophic”.
• adding, “But in no way do we draw any form of equivalence between the Hamas leaders that have been targeted by arrest warrants by the ICC and the government of Israel.”