France declares non-compliance with ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu

The French government announced on 27 November that it will not comply with the arrest warrants issued against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week.

(Article republished from TheCradle.co)

France’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will need to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender.”

By that, Paris affirmed its commitment to international law but said that Netanyahu is covered by immunity regulations that apply to governments that are not party to the ICC, such as Israel and the US.

The statement came a day after Italy said there were “many doubts” about the ICC arrest warrants.

“Netanyahu would never go to a country where he can be arrested. The arrest of Netanyahu is unfeasible, at least as long as he is prime minister,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on 26 November at a press conference following a two-day G7 foreign ministers meeting hosted by Rome. The G7 countries failed to reach a common position on the issue.

The matter has triggered disputes within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Rome would have to arrest Netanyahu if he entered Italy, while the leader of the League party in Meloni’s coalition, Matteo Salvini, said the Israeli premier would be welcome.

Austria has criticized the ICC for its decision. The German government has also rejected the warrants, as has – most prominently – Washington.

However, Turkiye, Arab countries, and several European states, including the UK and Spain, have welcomed the decision and promised to uphold their legal obligations.

EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell urged the importance of adhering to the ICC warrant and said it was “judicial, not political,” adding: “Its decisions are legally binding: there is no pick and choose.”

The ICC issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant on 21 November. Chief Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan announced in late May that the court had applied for arrest warrants against the two Israeli officials. The applications also included warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif.

Prior to the application for the warrants, it was announced that US lawmakers were preparing legislation to target the ICC for going after the Israeli leaders. Three days after the application for the warrants was announced, Mike Johnson, Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, said that Washington “should punish the ICC and put Karim Khan back in his place.”

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