France defends Netanyahu , says he is immune to ICC arrest
France has asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is immune from the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) legal actions, despite the court seeking his arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The French government argued that Israel, not being a signatory to the Rome Statute, is not bound by the ICC’s jurisdiction.
After a week of deliberations, France’s position became clearer following the ICC’s announcement of arrest warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, former defence chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.
Initially, France had indicated it would comply with the ICC’s statutes, but after further reflection, it revised its stance.
The French Foreign Ministry clarified that the Rome Statute does not require states that are not parties to the court to act in ways that would violate their obligations regarding immunity.
“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender,” the ministry stated.
Human rights groups have criticized France for what they perceive as a diplomatic concession. “Some shocking nonsense from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office – not Netanyahu, not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, no one,” said Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch, emphasizing the irrelevance of official position under Article 27 of the Rome Statute.
