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November 28, 2024 | 08:02 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - France stated on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, that they believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has legal immunity against actions by the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking his arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza. This is considering that Israel has not signed the court's laws.
France's view, issued a day after the ceasefire announcement between Israel and the armed group Hizbullah in Lebanon mediated by the US and France, was condemned by human rights groups. Other countries including Italy also questioned the validity of the mandate.
A statement from the French Foreign Ministry said they will continue to cooperate with Netanyahu.
This changing stance occurred amid reports that Netanyahu called French President Emmanuel Macron expressing his anger and asking France not to enforce the ICC's decision.
Paris took nearly a week to take a clear stance, after the court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
After initially stating they would comply with the ICC statute, the French Foreign Ministry retracted in a second statement on November 22 amid concerns that Israel could thwart ceasefire efforts in Lebanon, saying the court's decision only formalized an accusation.
On Wednesday, the ministry indicated that the Rome Statute establishing the ICC states that a country cannot be asked to act in a way that is contrary to its obligations "with regard to immunity for states not party to the ICC".
"This immunity applies to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other related ministers and should be considered if ICC requests their arrest and surrender."
The French ministry's statement, referring to what it called a historical friendship between two democracies committed to the rule of law, said France intends to continue working with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities "to achieve peace and security for everyone in the Middle East."
Human rights groups stated that France had softened its response to maintain cooperation with Netanyahu and his government.
"There is surprising talk from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they are in office - not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one," said Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch.
He referred to article 27 of the Rome Statute on 'irrelevance of official capacity'.
Amnesty called France's position "deeply problematic".
"Instead of concluding that ICC suspects can enjoy legal immunity, France should unequivocally confirm its acceptance of clear legal obligations under the Rome Statute to execute arrest warrants."
Netanyahu Calls Macron
Netanyahu reportedly spoke with Macron over the phone, asking the Paris government not to enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.
According to RMC radio reports, as cited by Anadolu, Macron and Netanyahu discussed the ICC arrest warrant in a phone call held last week.
In the phone call, Netanyahu was reported to express his anger and ask France not to enforce the court's decision.
Although Macron has not provided an official statement on the matter, information obtained by RMC from various sources indicates that Macron told Netanyahu during the conversation that France will enforce international law and noted that judges can grant immunity to heads of state.
On November 21, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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