The UK government has dropped plans to challenge the right of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In May, the chief prosecutor of the ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The previous Conservative UK government had indicated it planned to make a submission to the court – having questioned the right of the prosecutor to apply for a warrant – but had not done so before the election.

Now, a spokesperson for the new Labour government has said it will not be making a submission, saying it is “a matter for the court”.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “I think you would note that the courts have already received a number of submissions on either side, so they are well-seized of the arguments to make their independent determinations.”

In addition to Netanyahu, the ICC’s chief prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Should the ICC proceed with the arrest warrants, the possibility could arise that Netanyahu and Gallant would be asked not to set foot on British soil, to avoid being arrested by the UK authorities.

Nampa/AP