France Suggests It Would Not Immediately Arrest Netanyahu Despite I.C.C. Warrant
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The foreign ministry did not say outright that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would be free to travel to France, but it argued that an I.C.C. rule on immunity may apply to him.
France’s foreign ministry strongly suggested on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would not immediately be arrested if he came to French territory, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant targeting him.
France has been cautious so far in its reaction to the arrest warrants the I.C.C. issued last week for Mr. Netanyahu and his former defense minister, and it did not say outright that Mr. Netanyahu would be free to travel to France. But it argued that I.C.C. rules on immunity applied to Mr. Netanyahu and would have to be considered by French authorities.
“France will comply with its international obligations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. But it added that while the Rome Statute — the 1998 treaty that established the I.C.C. — demands “full cooperation” with the court, it also says that a state “cannot be required to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the immunities of States not party to the I.C.C.”
The foreign ministry said: “Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other ministers concerned and will have to be taken into account should the I.C.C. request of us their arrest and surrender.”
The court’s warrant accuses Mr. Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Some countries, like Ireland, have taken a firm line on the arrest warrants, saying Mr. Netanyahu would be arrested on their soil. But others, like Italy, have also raised questions about the feasibility and legality of an arrest.
President Emmanuel Macron and Mr. Netanyahu have a strained relationship, but France has played a key role in trying to keep the conflicts in the Middle East from spiraling out of control, especially in Lebanon. The French foreign ministry’s statement came a day after France and the United States helped broker a cease-fire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.