The Telegraph Netanyahu’s arrest would not help end Gaza war, says Downing Street 20 May 2024 • 5:03pm

 The Telegraph 

Netanyahu’s arrest would not help end Gaza war, says Downing Street 

20 May 2024 • 5:03pm

KEY MOMENTS

Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance

3:16pm

ICC prosecutor decision ‘beyond outrageous,’ says Israeli president

2:39pm

UK says warrants will not help secure ceasefire

1:55pm

Seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant is ‘scandalous’, says Israel

12:30pm

Amal Clooney on panel of ICC experts that recommended arrests

12:11pm

ICC seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

A warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest will not help end the war in Gaza, Britain has said, suggesting that it may oppose a move to detain the Israeli prime minister.

A government spokesman told The Telegraph that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over either Israel or Hamas, because Israel is not a party to the court’s underlying treaty.

“We do not believe that seeking warrants will help get hostages out, get aid in, or deliver a sustainable ceasefire. This remains the UK’s priority,” the spokesman said.

“As we have said from the outset, we do not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case. The UK has not yet recognised Palestine as a state, and Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute.”

The ICC relies on its member countries to carry out arrests on their territory.

Israel earlier condemned the move by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, saying it was tantamount to attacking the victims of October 7.

As well as Mr Netanyahu, the ICC is seeking arrest warrants for Israel’s defence minister and three top Hamas leaders including Yahya Sinwar, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

LIVE REPORTING

Arthur Scott-Geddes

 and 

Tony Diver,

 US EDITOR

4:43PM

Live coverage ending

Thanks for following the coverage. The key developments today were:

ICC’s chief prosecutor announces he is seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prosecutor also seeking war crimes warrants for senior Hamas leaders

Israel calls ICC move ‘scandalous’

UK refuses to confirm whether Netanyahu would be arrested on British soil

4:27PM

Unclear if Netanyahu would be arrested in UK

Downing Street has refused to confirm or deny whether the UK would execute a prospective arrest warrant on Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to the UK.

ICC member countries are supposed to carry out arrests on their territories under the court’s treaty.

At a briefing on Monday, a No 10 spokesperson said it would not comment on the details of “hypotheticals”.

The spokesperson was asked: “If a warrant were issued and Netanyahu came to the UK, would he be safe from arrest?”

They replied: “We’re getting ahead of ourselves so I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. The application for these warrants is now being considered by the pre-trial chamber, there’s an ongoing legal process which obviously I can’t get into.

“But more broadly, as I say, we do not believe the ICC has jurisdiction in this case and in any case this action is not helpful in relation to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out or getting humanitarian aid in.”

4:14PM

Netanyahu recording statement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to his Likud party faction meeting at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem

Benjamin Netanyahu is making a pre-recorded message to respond officially to the prospect of an arrest warrant.

He recorded and published a statement three weeks ago, when reports began to surface that an announcement by the ICC was imminent.

He said at the time: “You have to hear this to believe this. The International Criminal Court in the Hague is contemplating issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials as war criminals.

“This would be an outrage of historic proportions. International bodies like the ICC arose in the wake of the Holocaust committed against the Jewish people.

They were set up to prevent such horrors, to prevent future genocides. Yet now the International Court is trying to put Israel in the dock.”

4:09PM

ICC news a ‘wake-up call’ for Israel

Jeremy Corbyn, harsh critic of the Israeli government said the prospect of arrests warrant are a “wake-up call for political leaders who have aided and abetted crimes against humanity”.

Mr Corbyn sits as an independent MP, having had the whip removed in 2020 for suggesting the scale of antisemitism within the Labour party had been overstated.

The Labour Party have remained quiet following the ICC news, demonstrating the how fraught the subject of Israel is within the party.

However, Beth Winter (MP for Cynon Valley) said: “The ICC Prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for the situation in Gaza. UK Govt must declare and demonstrate its support for this process. That must mean suspending arms sales licensing to those accused of directing attacks against civilians.”

Richard Burgon (MP for East Leeds): “Now the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants, our Government must condemn threats and attempts to undermine the independence of the Court. And it must do all it can to support the Court in ensuring accountability and justice for the victims of these crimes.”

Other Labour MPs, including Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry (shadow Attorney General) have shared news articles/Tweets on social media but without comment.

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3:42PM

Read Karim Khan’s statement in full

3:16PM

ICC prosecutor decision ‘beyond outrageous,’ says Israeli president

The ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and defence minister was “beyond outrageous” and would embolden terrorists around the world, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said.

“Any attempt to draw parallels between these atrocious terrorists and a democratically elected government of Israel - working to fulfill its duty to defend and protect its citizens entirely in adherence to the principles of international law – is outrageous and cannot be excepted by anyone,” Mr Herzog said.

3:03PM

Czech prime minister condemns arrest warrant move

Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, has condemned the ICC chief prosecutor’s announcement.

“The ICC Chief Prosecutor’s proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable,” he said.

“We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.”

2:53PM

Hamas ‘strongly condemns’ arrest warrant bid against its leaders

Hamas “strongly condemns” a bid by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for the militant group’s top leaders including Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

“The Hamas movement strongly condemns the attempts of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders,” the terror group said in a statement.

2:39PM

UK says warrants will not help secure ceasefire

The UK has said that a warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest will not help reach a ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza, in a suggestion that Britain may oppose a decision to detain the Israeli prime minister, writes Tony Diver.

A government spokesman told The Telegraph that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over either Israel or Hamas, because Israel is not a party to the court’s underlying treaty and Palestine is not a state.

The spokesman said: “We do not believe that seeking warrants will help get hostages out, get aid in, or deliver a sustainable ceasefire. This remains the UK’s priority.

“As we have said from the outset, we do not think the ICC has jurisdiction in this case. The UK has not yet recognised Palestine as a state, and Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute.”

The UK is not expected to make further comment before the court has decided whether or not to grant the request for a warrant.

2:31PM

What is the ICC?

The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

The Rome Statute creating the ICC was adopted in 1998 and took effect when it got 60 ratifications on July 1, 2002. The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the ICC, but the court is independent.

Without a police force, the ICC relies on member states to arrest suspects, which has proven to be a major obstacle to prosecutions.

The ICC’s 124 member states have signed on to the Rome Statute. Dozens of countries didn’t sign and don’t accept the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes. They include Israel, the United States, Russia and China.

The ICC becomes involved when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues that it has a functioning court system, and disputes over a nation’s ability or willingness to prosecute have fueled past disputes between the court and individual countries.

The ICC has 17 ongoing investigations, issued a total of 42 arrest warrants and taken 21 suspects into custody. Its judges have convicted 10 suspects and acquitted four.

The ICC headquarters in the Hague

The ICC headquarters in the Hague CREDIT: Anadolu

2:21PM

‘Historical disgrace’ - Israel Katz’s statement in full

1:55PM

Seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant is ‘scandalous’, says Israel

The ICC’s move to seek arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is “scandalous” and tantamount to attacking the victims of October 7, Israel’s foreign minister has said.

Israel Katz said he had opened a special war room to counteract the ICC’s move, adding that no force in the world will stop the country from bringing back its hostages from Gaza and toppling Hamas.

1:42PM

Telegraph readers have their say on the ICC arrest warrant move

1:37PM

Gantz: Israel waging one of the most just wars in history

More from Benny Gantz, the war cabinet minister, who says: “The State of Israel is waging one of the most just wars fought in modern history following a reprehensible massacre perpetrated by terrorist Hamas on the 7th of October.

“While Israel fights with one of the strictest moral codes in history, while complying with international law and boasting a robust independent judiciary.”

1:29PM

Israel’s Ben-Gvir urges Netanyahu to ignore ‘antisemitic’ ICC prosecutor

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hard right security minister, has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore the International Criminal Court and its prosecutor.

“The prime minister and the defense minister need to ignore the antisemitic prosecutor and order a stepped-up assault against Hamas until they are completely destroyed,” he said.

Mr Ben-Gvir also said Israel should halt its participation in “antisemitic” international court proceedings in the Hague.

1:12PM

Watch: ICC chief prosecutor’s statement

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1:04PM

Israeli finance minister calls arrest warrants ‘Jew hatred’

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s hard-Right Finance Minister, described the call for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant’s arrest as a “show of hypocrisy and Jew-hatred” recalling Nazi propaganda.

“Arrest warrants against them are arrest warrants against us all,” Mr Smotrich said in a statement, calling on countries friendly to Israel to take action to disband the ICC.

1:03PM

ICC spoke to music festival survivors

The panel of ICC experts advising the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, spoke to survivors from the Supernova music festival near the Gazan border in the formation of their report.

A legal assessment released this morning explains the panel’s reasoning for supporting Mr Khan’s decision to request an arrest warrant of military commanders of Hamas and Israel.

“After assessing the material provided by the Prosecutor, including statements from survivors and eye-witnesses at the scene of six key attack locations - Kfar Aza, Holit, the location of the Supernova Music Festival, Be’eri, Nir Oz, and Nahal Oz - video material and statements by the perpetrators, the Panel has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the three suspects had a common plan that necessarily involved the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the panel said.

“The systematic and coordinated nature of the crimes, their scale, statements by the suspects supporting the commission of such crimes, evidence of the sophisticated planning of the attacks and the ideology and past practices of Hamas all support the finding that the common plan was criminal in character.”

1:00PM

How might Netanyahu respond?

We have not yet seen a response from Benjamin Netanyahu to the call by the ICC’s prosecutor for him to be arrested, writes Tony Diver.

But Mr Netanyahu has previously addressed the prospect of ICC action against him.

In a speech earlier this month, he said that the court had been “founded as a consequence of the Holocaust” and that any attempt to bring legal proceedings against him would “undermine” Israel’s right to self-defence.

Speaking on May 5, Holocaust Memorial Day, he said that any arrests would be a “distortion of justice and history”.

“Even if Israel is forced to stand alone, we will stand alone, and we will continue to strike our enemies powerfully until victory,” he said. “Even if we have to stand alone, we will continue to fight human evil.”

12:56PM

ICC prosecutor’s move is ‘a crime of historic proportions’

Benny Gantz, an Israeli war cabinet minister, has denounced the ICC chief prosecutor’s move to seek arrest warrants against the country’s prime minister and defence minister as “a crime of historic proportion”.

“Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation (Hamas) is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy,” Mr Gantz said.

Benny Gantz pictured at a memorial service for the victims of the October 7 attack on Israel

Benny Gantz pictured at a memorial service for the victims of the October 7 attack on Israel CREDIT: FADEL SENNA/AFP

12:52PM

John Bolton: ICC has ‘proven its illegitimacy’

The International Criminal Court has “proven its fundamental illegitimacy” by pursuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, John Bolton, a former US national security adviser, has said.

“To aid our ally Israel, the US should take steps both in Congress and in the White House to condemn the ICC and impose sanctions, as I have previously suggested,” he said.

Like Israel, the United States is not a party state to the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction.

12:46PM

Israeli opposition leader condemns ICC announcement

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the ICC’s announcement that it was seeking arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant as a “disaster”.

Addressing his parliamentary faction, Mr Lapid siad he hoped the US Congress would convene and condemn the ICC measure.

12:43PM

Will Benjamin Netanyahu be arrested?

The ICC has issued 42 arrest warrants since it was founded in 2002, but only 21 suspects have been taken into custody, writes Tony Diver.

The court relies on police forces of other countries to fulfil the warrants, and other countries are often hesitant to take the diplomatic risk of arresting a political leader accused of war crimes or genocide.

The ICC currently has 17 ongoing investigations, and has convicted a total of 10 suspects since it was founded. Four have been acquitted.

The majority of the investigations are linked to war crimes in Africa, although the court has diversified its investigations in recent years and is now conducting inquiries based on events in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.

In 2020, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on members of the ICC staff, after it was revealed the committee was investigating American troops for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

12:40PM

Hamas: ICC’s decision ‘equates the victim with the executioner’

The International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for three leading Hamas militants “equates the victim with the executioner”, a senior Hamas official has said.

Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the ICC decision gives encouragement to Israel to continue its “war of extermination” in Gaza.

12:36PM

What happens next?

The recommendation to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, comes from the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan, writes Tony Diver.

Mr Khan was acting on the recommendation of an expert panel convened by the ICC to assess witness statements, expert evidence, official communications, videos and photographs relating to the war in the Middle East.

Mr Khan’s recommendations will now be examined by a panel of ICC judges, who will determine whether to release a warrant for the men’s arrests. This process usually takes several months, and can be done in private or in public.

The ICC does not have its own law enforcement, so relies on countries to fulfil the arrests and transfer the suspects to the court for charge.

Arrests can be difficult to secure. Previous warrants have been issued for the arrest of Vladimir Putin and Omar Al Bashir, the former president of Sudan. Al Bashir was not arrested until ten years after the warrant was issued, after he had been overthrown in a military coup in 2019.

12:34PM

Why is the ICC seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar?

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, says in his statement that he believes Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and the three top Hamas leaders are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Of the Israeli actions, Mr Khan said: “The effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known. ... They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women.”

Of the Hamas attacks on October 7, he says he saw for himself “the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unconscionable crimes charged in the applications filed today”.

“Speaking with survivors, I heard how the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness. These acts demand accountability.”

12:30PM

Amal Clooney on panel of ICC experts that recommended arrests

The decision to seek arrest warrants was based on the conclusions of a panel of ICC experts, writes Tony Diver, US Editor.

They include Amal Clooney, the human rights lawyer, Baroness Helena Kennedy, a member of the House of Lords, Sir Adrian Fulford, a retired British appeal judge, and Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a former Foreign Office legal adviser. Five of the six ICC experts involved in the decision are British.

In a statement, Ms Clooney said: “Despite our diverse personal backgrounds, our legal findings are unanimous. We have unanimously determined that the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals.

“We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence.

“We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination.”

12:28PM

The charges against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, in full:

Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime

Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health

Wilful killing, or Murder as a war crime

Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime

Extermination and/or murder, including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity

Persecution as a crime against humanity

Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity

12:22PM

The charges against the Hamas leaders, in full:

Extermination as a crime against humanity

Murder as a crime against humanity

Taking hostages as a war crime

Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, and also as war crimes in the context of captivity

Torture as a crime against humanity, and also as a war crime

Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity

Cruel treatment as a war crime in the context of captivity

Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime in the context of captivity

12:19PM

Which Hamas officials have the ICC sought arrest warrants for?

The ICC is seeking arrets warrants for Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the commander in chief of the Al Qassam brigades, and Ismael Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau.

“My Office submits there are reasonable grounds to believe that Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh are criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas (in particular its military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades) and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages,” Karim Khan said in a statement.

12:14PM

Karim Khan: ‘Nobody is above the law’

Asked about the charges against Benjamin Netanyahu, Karim Khan said: “No one is above the law.”

If Israel disagrees with the ICC, “they are free, notwithstanding their objections to jurisdiction, to raise a challenge before the judges of the court and that’s what I advise them to do,” he told CNN.

12:11PM

ICC seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

Both Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, are both being targeted with arrest warrants.

The charges against them include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict,” said KC Karim Khan.