Israeli prime minister reportedly ‘furious’ after Britain drops objections to ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu, leading the Israeli premier to boycott British foreign minister’s visit to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with Britain’s new foreign secretary after his government dropped the U.K.’s objections to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and another senior Israeli official, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 13 Saturday.
Citing Israeli sources, the report claimed that Netanyahu “is furious with Britain” over the decision to withdraw Britain’s objections to the ICC arrest warrants.
As a result, Netanyahu reportedly refused to meet British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who arrived in Israel last week, along with his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, for meetings with senior Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.
Lammy had reportedly vowed to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the new British government would not walkback the U.K.’s objections to the ICC arrest warrants.
While Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz (Likud) met with Lammy, Netanyahu is said to have snubbed the British foreign secretary, rebuffing multiple attempts by the Foreign Office to schedule a meeting between the two.
The Prime Minister’s Office cited “constraints of the timetable” as the official reason for the refusal, Channel 13 said.
Both the British Foreign Office and the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report, saying there had been no plans for a meeting between Lammy and Netanyahu.
Lammy and Séjourné travelled to Ramallah Friday to meet with Palestinian Authority premier Mohammed Mustafa, following a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
While the British and French foreign affairs chiefs both wore yellow pins in honor of the Israeli captives held in Gaza during their meeting with Katz, the two removed the pins ahead of their meeting with Mustafa.
During their visit to Israel, Lammy and Séjourné published a joint op-ed in The Guardian, calling on both Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal, expressing hope that such a deal would lead to future talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state.
“Only a deal can open up the space for progress towards a two-state solution – the only long-term route to safety, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
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