The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has defended arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that justice must be seen to be done.

In an interview with BBC, Karim Khan said that it was important to show the court would hold all nations to the same standard in relation to alleged war crimes, welcoming the UK government's decision to drop its opposition to the arrest warrants.

In July, the British government reversed its opposition to the ICC seeking an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

Khan announced in May that the court was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and war minister Yoav Gallant on charges of committing war crimes.