ICC arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu: France “must apply the rules”, believes Yaël Braun-Pivet
The president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet (Renaissance), estimated on Tuesday that France, as a signatory of the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), “must follow the rules” and arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he reaches French territory.
“Since France is a signatory, member of the Rome Statute and recognizes the ICC, I believe that it must apply the norms derived from it, there is no reason to deviate from them”explained Yaël Braun-Pivet on Sud Radio.
The International Criminal Court, to which Israel has not joined and from which the United States has withdrawn, on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and the head of the military branch of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“This is the whole difficulty of international justice. (…)“It is still complicated to have justice that is not recognized by everyone”estimated the president of the French Assembly, defending however “strict application of the law”. “Under the separation of powers, I have no orders to make to the government and the executive branch”clarified, “But, in any case, we must draw the consequences of this accession to the ICC, obviously”.
Paris has “taken note” Thursday of these arrest warrants, remembering “his attachment to the independent work of the Court”but without explicitly saying whether France would arrest them if these people reached its territory. Italy and the United Kingdom, by contrast, immediately announced that they would respect their commitment to the ICC. On the contrary, Hungary invited the head of the Israeli government as a sign of defiance.
