‘Possible immunity’: France casts doubt on arresting Netanyahu

France has suggested Benjamin Netanyahu might actually be immune from arrest under warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations. Picture: AFP.

The French government cast doubt on whether it would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under warrants issued by the International Criminal Court last week, suggesting the Israeli leader might have immunity, a stance that raises questions about the court’s jurisdiction worldwide.

The issue became central to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon announced Tuesday evening, according to Israeli officials. Israeli officials said that they would not accept France, alongside the US, as the oversight power on a monitoring committee for the ceasefire if Mr Netanyahu risked arrest were he to travel to France.

On Wednesday, the French foreign ministry suggested Mr Netanyahu may have immunity from arrest under the ICC warrant because Israel isn’t a signatory of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

“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,” the foreign ministry said.

Ultimately, a French judge will decide whether to arrest Mr Netanyahu if he is headed to France based on a request from the ICC, said a senior French official.

France’s declaration came as Israel told the ICC it would appeal against the arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

It also asked the court to suspend the warrants pending the outcome of the appeal, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

Mr Netanyahu accused the court of anti-semitism and vowed not to be deterred from defending Israel.

“The State of Israel challenges the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued,” The PM’s office said.

“If the court rejects this request, it will further demonstrate to Israel’s friends in the United States and around the world how biased the International Criminal Court is against the State of Israel,” it added.

The ICC did not make a direct comment on Israel’s appeal.

The position of France, a key European power and one of 124 countries that have signed the Rome Statute, raises doubts about the ICC’s global reach, particularly over countries that haven’t signed the treaty. The court, based in the Hague, issued arrest warrants last week for Mr Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza. The warrants allege the two men committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation as a weapon and in two instances directing attacks against civilians.

On Wednesday the ICC said any requests by countries to change the implementation of its decisions are up to the court’s judges.

Israel isn’t a signatory of the treaty, but the Palestinian territories have signed it, using their status as a non-member observer state at the United Nations. The ICC ruled in 2021 that the court has jurisdiction over offences committed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

France’s statement raises questions about whether France would apply the same criteria to ICC warrants issued for other leaders of countries that haven’t signed the Rome statute, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The ICC’s chief prosecutor has asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for the junta leader of Myanmar, which isn’t an ICC member, over crimes against the Rohingya minority, the first such request from the court against a high-level official in the Southeast Asian nation. Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led a military coup that overthrew the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, is accused of crimes against humanity against the group during brutal military operations that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

France has previously carried out arrests under warrants issued by the ICC, but those arrests involved countries that are members of the court. The French foreign ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Reaction to the ICC arrest warrant has been mixed in Europe. Some countries like Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands have been clear that they must abide by the court’s warrants. Other countries, like Germany and Italy, have sent mixed signals on what they would do. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is considered close to Israel, immediately invited Mr Netanyahu to his country, denouncing the ICC move. Britain has said it would always comply with its international obligations.

The US and China haven’t signed the Rome Statute.

The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu threw a wrench in ceasefire talks, people familiar with the matter said. After the warrants were issued, a French foreign ministry spokesman said last week: “On this issue, as on all others, we support the action of the Court’s prosecutor who acts in complete independence.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had said Paris will always apply international law if Mr Netanyahu visited France without specifying whether he would be subject to arrest.

Mr Netanyahu requested to have a call with Macron in recent days to convey his disappointment with France’s position on the ICC warrant, according to a person familiar with the matter. During this call Macron said France was committed to international justice but didn’t take a position on whether it would carry out the arrest warrants or not.

Macron called Biden a few hours later after speaking with Mr Netanyahu to discuss the ICC issue.

Tensions have grown sharply between France and Israel in recent weeks as Macron’s criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza were heightened by Israel’s attack on Lebanon, a country with longstanding French ties.

Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli officials publicly criticised Macron over a series of decisions, including a French proposal to limit arms supplies to Israel due to Israel’s actions in Gaza and a ban on Israeli companies participating in an international naval exhibition that took place earlier this month.

“I have a message for President Macron,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video statement on October 5. “The axis of terror stands together. But countries who supposedly oppose this terror axis call for an arms embargo on Israel. What a disgrace.” French officials said that both Lebanon and the US insisted to Israel that France would need to be part of the monitoring mechanism for the deal to work, Under the ceasefire deal, France has critical roles, including helping build up the Lebanese armed forces which are supposed to take control of southern Lebanon and ensure Hezbollah cannot operate freely there again. Its political role in the agreement – standing alongside the US in monitoring the agreement – was also a crucial factor in winning Lebanese approval for the deal, given Washington’s close ties with Israel.

Dow Jones