Tories hit out at ‘concerning and provocative’ ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has been urged by the Tories to condemn the arrest warrants issued for Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court were “concerning and provocative”.

The Government is yet to formally respond to the court’s actions, but has previously stressed its commitment to The Hague institution’s independence.

The ICC  issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas officials.

The Israeli politicians are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza.

Dame Priti criticised the ICC for drawing a “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist atrocity on October 7, 2023, which triggered the military response.

She said: “The decision by the ICC to issue arrest warrants for the democratically elected leader of Israel and Israel’s former defence minister is deeply concerning and provocative.

“This will do nothing to bring about the release of all hostages held and the bringing of much-needed aid into Gaza.

“The focus of international diplomacy must be on securing a sustainable peace, a de-escalation of tensions in the region and an end to this conflict.

“In issuing these warrants, the ICC are drawing a moral equivalence with the actions of the terrorist leadership of Hamas, which it is wrong to do.

“The Labour Government must condemn and challenge the ICC’s decision.”

Before the election in July, Tory ministers had been considering lodging a legal challenge to the issuing of arrest warrants, but the Labour administration dropped that idea, saying it was a matter for the court to rule on.

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 and several of the Hamas officials have been killed in the conflict.

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”.

The court 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”.