France said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immunity given his country was not party to the statutes of the International Criminal Court that has sought his arrest, and Paris would continue working closely with him.
France has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position on the matter, after the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defence chief and a leader of the Hamas Palestinian militant group.
After initially saying it would adhere to the ICC statutes, France's foreign ministry fine-tuned that in a second statement on November 22 amid concerns that Israel could scupper efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it noted that the court's decision merely formalised an accusation.
On Wednesday, the ministry said France would respect its international obligations, it being understood that the Rome Statute that established the ICC provided that a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations "with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC".
"Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender."
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France.
France's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his counterpart in the aftermath of the ICC arrest warrant on Thursday and President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Netanyahu on Friday to outline Paris' position, diplomatic sources said.
The French ministry statement, referring to what it called the historic friendship between two democracies committed to the rule of law, said France intended to continue to work closely with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities "to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East."
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