UK 'would face US reprisals for helping ICC arrest Netanyahu'

The UK has been warned it could face US reprisals for helping enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for the Israeli PM.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated that Britain 'respects the independence' of the ICC after the dramatic action against Benjamin Netanyahu and his ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant.

The position raises the prospect that Mr Netanyahu could be arrested for war crimes if he steps on UK territory - although ministers have been desperately trying to avoid saying so explicitly. 

Issuing warrants for the Israeli politicians over the Gaza conflict - at the same time as a Hamas leader already believed to have been killed - has sparked fury at the court drawing moral equivalence between legitimate national leaders and terrorists.

And the backlash has been huge in the US, where Donald Trump is due to take power in less than two months. 

Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned last night that the US would not 'let the world believe for a moment that this is a legitimate exercise of jurisdiction by the Court against Israel because to do so means we could be next'. 

'I will be introducing legislation that puts other countries on notice – If you aid and abet the ICC after their action against the State of Israel, you can expect consequences from the United States,' he said. 

'Any nation that joins with the ICC after this outrage is a partner in a reckless act that tramples the rule of law.' 

In a round of interviews this morning, Ms Cooper insisted that the ICC warrants were 'not a matter for me as Home Secretary'.

She stressed that the UK 'respects the independence of the ICC', but added: 'In the majority of the cases that they pursue they don't become part of the British legal process or the British government processes.

'In those cases where they do there are important processes that need to be followed.

'That's why it wouldn't be appropriate for me as the Home Secrerary to comment on individual cases in a speculative way.'

The court's decision makes Mr Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects - putting them at risk of arrest when they travel abroad. But its implications could be limited because Israel, and close ally the US, are not members of the court. 

Mr Netanyahu said Israel 'rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions'.

The ICC also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas' armed wing, over the October 7, 2023 terror attacks that triggered Israel's offensive in Gaza. Israel is believed to have killed Deif in an airstrike.

Downing Street said: '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.'

Asked if Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to the UK, the PM's spokesman said: 'We are not going to get into hypotheticals.'

It is understood the Government's position has not changed since Attorney General Richard Hermer said last month that it would comply with its legal obligations under the ICC.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a statement that the court has 'minimalised how Hamas fights - deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields'.

'Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape and hostage taking. 

'We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians. The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.'

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick urged the Government not to 'enforce this farcical arrest warrant from a politicised court that is itself mired in scandal'.

He tweeted: 'The ICC has no credibility as it turns a blind eye to the crimes of tyrants like Putin. Equating Israel's war of self-defence with Hamas's terrorism is absurd. This decision will only fuel the growing perception the ICC is a kangaroo court.'

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the issuing of arrest warrants for the 'democratically elected leader of Israel and Israel's former defence minister is deeply concerning and provocative'.

'The ICC are drawing a moral equivalence with the actions of the terrorist leadership of Hamas.

'The Conservative government did not believe the ICC has jurisdiction in this area, as Israel is not a signatory to the Rome statute, and because Palestine is not recognised as a state. The Labour Government must condemn and challenge the ICC's decision.'

Former officer in the British Army, Colonel Richard Kemp, said Donald Trump would 'not look kindly' on countries that back the action.

'The Labour government is not doing Britain any favours by backing the court's decision which is contrary to British and American interests,' he said.