Hours after signing the ceasefire in Lebanon, the promoters of the agreement, France and the US, have granted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hundreds of millions of dollars in new weapons (US) and “immunity” from the order of arrest of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the prime minister for war crimes (France).
On Friday, hours after ICC judges issued the arrest warrant, The French Foreign Ministry supported the decision. This Wednesday, however, he issued another statement clarifying that, according to his interpretation, Nentanyahu enjoys immunity before said order. What has happened between both statements is that Israel has accepted a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon promoted and negotiated for weeks by France and the US. France is one of the main European allies of Lebanon, a former French protectorate, and has criticized the Israeli offensive from its beginning.
How immunity is created
“It seems that one of the reasons why Netanyahu accepted the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon is that France granted him immunity against the ICC arrest warrant,” Mairav Zonszein, an Israel analyst at the think tank, said in American Crisis Group.
The agreement was close to being closed last Thursday, when the ICC arrest warrant suddenly arrived, according to Israeli and American sources. Axios. For its part, Agence France Presse reports that Netanyahu raised the issue of the arrest warrant in his conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron. Finally, Israeli media Maariv reports that after the first statement from the French Foreign Ministry regarding the ICC order, Israeli interlocutors told their American counterparts that they would not accept an antagonistic country as part of the agreement.
American sources tell Axios that France then committed to improving relations with Israel and Tel Aviv accepted Paris as a party to the treaty despite the growing differences between the two countries.
According to the text of the agreement, France and the United States will monitor compliance with the conditions of the ceasefire. A minister member of Israel’s security cabinet has recognized the media Israel Hayom Israeli conditionality: “Without receiving this concession from the French, we would not have included them in the agreement.”
Ignacio Gutiérrez de Terán, professor at the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Autonomous University of Madrid and author of the book ‘Hezbollah: the labyrinth of the Middle East’, also believes that this is “a particular agreement between Netanyahu and Macron to allow the French presence in the agreement as guarantor, but it is not valid with respect to the ICC,” he tells elDiario.es.
“Netanyahu has abandoned the inhabitants of the north to save himself from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. “Again, his personal interests above the safety of all of us,” Avigdor Liberman has denouncedpresident of the Yisrael Beytenu party and Netanyahu’s former defense and foreign minister.
A questionable justification
France has legally justified its change of position by claiming that Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute that regulates the ICC and, therefore, enjoys immunity as head of Government: “A State cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations under international law with respect to the immunities of States that are not parties to the ICC. “Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“Within the framework of the historical friendship between France and Israel, two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for a professional and independent judiciary, France intends to continue collaborating closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other Israeli authorities. to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East,” adds the controversial French statement.
France’s argument is based on Article 98 of the Rome Statute, but the court has already determined twice that heads of state or government of countries that are not members of the treaty do not enjoy immunity. This is what he ruled when Jordan did not arrest Omar Al Bashir in 2017 and, more recently, when Mongolia refused to arrest Vladimir Putin in September 2024.
The justification raises serious legal questions. “This argument is absolutely wrong and outrageous. It is the same argument used by the States that refused to arrest Vladimir Putin and Omar al-Bashir and that the court has systematically rejected as unfounded,” Sonia Boulos, professor at the Antonio de Nebrija University, an expert in international law and who has practiced as a lawyer at the Civil Rights Association in Israel.
“The Rome Statute is very clear: the ICC has jurisdiction in relation to alleged crimes that take place on the territory of a Member State, and Palestine is a Member State and the ICC has already ruled on this issue. “It is also regrettable that these arguments, which intentionally misrepresent international law, come from European states that have taken pride in their role in the creation of the International Criminal Court and are now working to weaken and delegitimize its work,” he adds.
With the question of jurisdiction resolved—Israel is not a party to the treaty—Article 27 of the Rome Statute clarifies that “the immunities associated with official positions, whether under national or international law, do not prevent the court from exercising its jurisdiction over that person.” ”.
Furthermore, although Russia is not part of the International Criminal Court, France did support the arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin, which shows the French contradiction. “France will continue to support the essential work of international courts to ensure that those responsible for all crimes committed in Ukraine are held accountable. “It provides full support to the ICC,” the Foreign Ministry said at the time.
More weapons
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has approved a $680 million arms package for Israel. In announcing the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu said one of the reasons for approving it was to “replenish stocks.”
“It is no secret that there have been long delays in deliveries of weapons and ammunition,” declared the Israeli leader. “These delays will be resolved soon. “We will receive supplies of advanced weaponry that will keep our soldiers safe and give us more strike force to complete our mission,” he added.
However, American sources They have assured the Financial Times newspaper that this new arms sale is linked to the ceasefire agreement. In April, the Biden administration threatened to halt military assistance to Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve within 30 days. A threat that did not materialize despite the fact that several NGOs denounced that Israel had not complied with US conditions.
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