Ireland ready to detain Netanyahu if he visits, says PM Simon Harris

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be detained if he arrives in Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Friday after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant.

Asked by state broadcaster RTE if Ireland would arrest the Israeli prime minister if he came to Ireland, Harris said: “Yes, absolutely.” “We support international courts and we apply their warrants,” he added.

The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday “for crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed between October 8, 2023, and May 20 this year.

It said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the pair bore “criminal responsibility” for using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally attacking civilians.

Netanyahu denounced the move as anti-Semitic and the court’s accusations as “absurd and false”.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the head of the military wing of Hamas. Israel said Deif was killed in an air strike in July. Hamas has not confirmed his death.

Harris told RTE that Ireland would also execute the warrant against Deif. The ICC has not been able to determine whether he was dead or alive.

Relations between Ireland and Israel have deteriorated since Dublin recognised the Palestinian state last May, a move that prompted Israel to recall its ambassador.

Ireland’s foreign minister Micheal Martin said Friday he disagreed with US President Joe Biden’s depiction of the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant as “outrageous”.

Martin told Newstalk radio that war crimes have been committed in Gaza. “It’s a collective punishment of the people… it’s genocidal,” he said.