British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said today he will continue to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against the Israeli prime minister for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Lamy clarified that would comply with the ICC’s request for Netanyahu’s arrest since he was visiting Britain, explaining that he cannot ignore the order.

However, he stressed that he would continue to talk with Netanyahu and other Israeli government officials about issues such as the effort to reaching a cease-fire in Gaza and the increase in humanitarian aid which enters the Palestinian enclave. “I believe these are important issues“, he explained, which require contacts at the government level. “I cannot think of any circumstances under which I would not converse with the elected representatives of the Israeli government“, he added.

Last week, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad, as well as the head of Hamas’s military arm, Ibrahim al-Masri (better known by the alias Mohammed Deif) for alleged war crimes in the Strip of Gaza.

The Israel condemned the ICC decision, calling it “disgraceful” and “absurd”, announcing that he would appeal.

David Lammy said he was obliged to pass the arrest warrant on to the British judiciary. “I will forward it to the courts and they will make the decision“, he said.

For its part, the French Foreign Ministry assessed regarding the arrest warrant issued by the ICC, that Netanyahu “enjoys immunity” since Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court.