Lord Germer told the BBC last month that he would not allow political considerations to influence his findings if the Home Office issued an arrest warrant.
“My advice (on an arrest warrant for Mr. Netanyahu) would be legal, based on an analysis of the law,” he said.
“It is not up to the lawyer to determine what the government chooses to do. A lawyer’s role is to provide fearless legal advice about what the law requires, what the law is, and where the law is taking you. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
After the arrest warrants were issued on Thursday, Downing Street said the UK government respected the independence of the ICC and remained focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The court also issued a warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in July, for alleged war crimes in connection with the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel criticized the ICC for drawing a “moral equivalent” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the October 7 attacks.
She called on the government to “condemn and challenge” the court’s decision, calling it “disturbing and provocative.”
After winning power, the new Labor government scrapped its predecessor’s plan to challenge the ICC’s right to issue arrest warrants, saying it was for a judge to decide.
The impact of the warrants will depend on whether the court’s 124 member states – which do not include Israel and its ally the US – decide to enforce them or not.
US President Joe Biden called the arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”.stating that there is “no equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.
However, officials from a number of European countries issued statements siding with the court and said they would comply with its decision.
Both Israel and Hamas reject the ICC’s accusations, with Netanyahu calling the warrant “anti-Semitic.”
Netanyahu condemned the Interior Ministry’s decision as “anti-Semitic.” Hamas did not mention the warrant for Deif, but welcomed the warrants for Netanyahu and Galant.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barot told the BBC that the ICC’s decision “is a formalization of the accusation, it is in no way a verdict.”
He told Laura Kuensberg on Sunday: “We also say that we condemn in the strongest terms the fact that humanitarian aid has not been able to reach the civilian population in Gaza while the situation is catastrophic.
“But in no way do we draw any form of equivalence between the leaders of Hamas who have been the target of an arrest warrant by the Interior Ministry and the government of Israel.”
