The French Foreign Ministry announced that the country supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) and "the fight against impunity" after the court's prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others for alleged war crimes related to the war between Israel and Hamas, reports Reuters and News.bg.
On Monday, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he had sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and three Hamas leaders, including its head Yahya Sinwar.
However, if such orders are issued, the members of the court, which includes almost all the countries of the European Union, could be put in a diplomatically difficult position.
"France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday.
While US President Joe Biden called the legal action against Israeli officials "outrageous", the French Foreign Ministry took a different stance.
Paris reiterated both its condemnation of the "anti-Semitic massacres" of Hamas on October 7, as well as its warnings about possible violations of international humanitarian law from Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip.
"As for Israel, the pre-trial chamber of the court will decide whether to issue these orders after examining the evidence presented by the prosecutor...", the ministry said.