French minister notes that Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court, says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are therefore immune to arrest.
Israel National News
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are protected from the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants, Anadolu reported.
According to Barrot, since Israel is not a member of the ICC, the arrest warrants do not apply and Netanyahu and Gallant are protected from arrest under the Rome Statute, due to their diplomatic immunity.
The Rome Statute is the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Asked in an interview with FranceInfo Radio whether the pair would be arrested if they entered French territory, Barrot declined to provide a clear answer, instead repeating that France will ‘apply international law based on its obligations to cooperate with the ICC.’
He added that the Rome Statute ‘deals with questions of immunity for certain leaders,’ but the judiciary makes the final decision.