Israel urges Canadian PM Carney to drop pledge to arrest Netanyahu

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) meet in the Oval Office

Israel urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to drop his pledge to honour the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he travelled to the country.

Carney was asked in an interview with Bloomberg published last week if he would fulfil the commitment of his predecessor Justin Trudeau to arrest Netanyahu on war crimes charges if he came to Canada, to which he replied "yes".

"We believe that Prime Minister Carney should, of course, reconsider this and welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu, the leader of the only Jewish state and democratic country in the Middle East, to Canada," Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters.

The ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.

Bedrosian said Canada's decision to recognise a Palestinian state was a "prize for terrorism" and it had "only poured fuel on an antisemitic fire in Canada".