Malta’s Foreign Minister Ian Borg issued a cautious response when asked whether Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he were to step foot on Maltese soil.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas.

As a member state of the ICC, Malta is technically obliged to arrest Netanyahu and hand him over to the court were he to land in the country.

Questioned by Lovin Malta, Borg said that Malta respects the ICC’s mandate but stopped short of confirming whether Malta would in fact arrest Netanyahu.

“Malta respects the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s mandate and unique role in all their respects, and we note that it has issued arrest warrants in connection with 7 October and what has occurred since,” he said.

“At this time, we are in close contact with our EU partners to determine a common response to this development, while maintaining our commitment to the primary goals of releasing all hostages and achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, as we continued to do this week through the resolution proposed at the UN Security Council.”

“As an ICC state party, we remain committed to supporting its independence and impartiality.”

Italy, the Netherlands and Canada, who are also members of the ICC, have openly said they would arrest Netanyahu were he to land on their territory.