France says it will work closely with Netanyahu despite international arrest warrant

PARIS -- France said Wednesday that it intends to continue to work in close collaboration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite an arrest warrant issued for him by the world’s top war crimes court.

The International Criminal Court issued warrants last week for Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza. Since then, French officials have replied vaguely to questions about whether France would arrest Netanyahu should he visit the country.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier told parliament this week that France would “rigorously” respect its obligations under international law, a position echoed again by France’s foreign minister in a broadcast interview Wednesday morning.

But in a subsequent written statement, the French Foreign Ministry argued that Netanyahu and others affected benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court. The ministry said this would be “taken into consideration if the ICC was to ask us for their arrest and handing over.”

Its statement cited “the historic friendship that links France and Israel” and described them as “two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for professional and independent justice.”

“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,” it said.

Amnesty International criticized France's position as “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.”

“A cornerstone principle of the ICC Statute is that no one is above the law, including heads of state sought for arrest," the rights group's France branch said.