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France has said it will not detain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the country even if he submits an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza.
The French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Netanyahu they may have immunity from arrest because Israel has not signed the Rome Statute, which established the ICC.
“A government cannot be forced to act contrary to its obligations under international law relating to the protection of countries that are not parties to the ICC,” it said. “Such immunity applies to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other ministers involved and should be considered if the ICC wants to be arrested and committed.”
The French statement, which came just a day after Paris backed the US war broker between Israel and Lebanon, could undermine the ICC by raising questions about its jurisdiction.
Rights groups including Amnesty International criticized France’s move as “extremely difficult” because it goes against its status as a member of the ICC.
The Hague Tribunal last week issued arrest warrants Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes” allegedly committed in Israel’s attack on Gaza.
The ICC’s 124 member states – which include many countries in Europe and Latin America as well as many in Africa and Asia – are bound to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territory. But the court has no way to enforce the documents if they don’t.
Although Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the 2021 ICC decision said the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because the Palestinian territories are signatories.
The relationship between the prime minister of Israel and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, has been very difficult, while the French authorities have strongly criticized the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza and Lebanon.
But France also played a major role in trying to prevent it conflicts in the community from spreading.
The ICC rulings were the focus of the party’s anti-Lebanon separatist talks because French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot angered Netanyahu when he said France would abide by the document. Barrot said “France will always apply international law” without specifying exactly what he meant.
The verdicts have sparked outrage in Israel, with Netanyahu’s office calling the ICC “a biased and discriminatory political body”.
Israel on Wednesday appealed to the ICC on war crimes and asked the court to suspend the documents pending the outcome.
According to the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over all heads of state or government, even if “immunities or special laws” exist under domestic or international law.
But Article 98 of the law states that the court cannot request an arrest that would require the government to “act contrary to its obligations under international law” related to human security.
French officials did not say much about what they stood for, but it raised questions about whether the same decision would apply to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes in Ukraine. Like Israel, Moscow is not a signatory to the Rome Statute.
Macron’s opponents in France rejected the government’s comments and accused it of taking the position in order to gain Israel’s support for the end of the war.
“France is once again submitting to the wishes of Benjamin Netanyahu by electing him for international justice,” said Green Leader Marine Tondelier on the social network X, adding that it is a dangerous example.
“If we follow sound principles . . . Finally, what should we understand? That Putin will not be arrested if he comes to Unesco? This is a great historical mistake,” he wrote.
Additional reports from Suzi Ring in London
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