France to apply international law regarding ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu

ANKARA

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Sunday said France would implement international law in relation to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"France is committed to international justice and its independence," Barrot said in an interview for France 3 TV channel.

"We have been saying from the very beginning that Israel has the right to defend itself within the framework of respect for international law."

"Each time Israel violates international law, blocking access to aid, bombing civilians, forcibly displacing them, establishing colonies in the West Bank."

He added they "strongly" condemn these actions.

Asked if he supported the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Barrot said: "I cannot put myself in the position of the court in any circumstance."

Barrot argued that the ICC's arrest warrant amounted to "the formalization of the accusation against certain politicians."

Regarding the question of whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he visited France, Barrot said: "France will always apply international law."

The ICC, in a landmark move on Thursday, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children.

It has also engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

*Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli in Istanbul