The French foreign ministry says it will continue to work closely with the Israeli prime minister due to the “friendship” between the two nations.
France said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has immunity from the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), marking a shift in stance that has been criticised by human rights groups.
The world’s top war crimes court last week issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, his ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s 13-month war in Gaza.
Since then, French officials have said they would act “in line with the ICC’s statutes” although replied vaguely about whether the country would arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they visited the country. France’s PM Michel Barnier told parliament this week that Paris would “rigorously” respect its obligations under international law, a position echoed again by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in a TV interview on Wednesday morning.
However, in a subsequent statement released on Wednesday, France’s foreign ministry said that Netanyahu and the others named in the ICC warrant benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court. This would be “taken into consideration if the ICC was to ask us for their arrest and handing over”, the ministry said.
“France intends to continue to work in close collaboration with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East,” said the statement, which noted “the longstanding friendship between France and Israel”.
The statement was published a day after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which was brokered by the US and France. Rights groups criticised the French government’s pivot, accusing it of softening its position with a view to maintaining working ties with the Israeli government.
Amnesty International said France’s position was “deeply problematic” and urged it to state that anyone subject to an ICC warrant “will be arrested and surrendered to the court if they find themselves in France’s jurisdiction”.
Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch, said on X that it was “shocking nonsense from France”.
“No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office — not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one,” he wrote.
Over the last week, European leaders have given mixed reactions on whether they would respect or ignore the ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu. The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday that the court’s decision — which is non-binding — should be “respected and implemented” by the EU’s 27 member states, which are part of the ICC.
The Group of Seven nations (G7) are seeking a common position on the warrant, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.
The US, which is part of the G7 but not the ICC, has condemned the court’s warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant as “outrageous”. Israel has criticised the decision as “shameful and absurd”, while Hamas has praised it as “an important step towards justice”.
