Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

France said on Wednesday it believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immunity to actions by the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is seeking his arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza, given Israel has not signed up to the court statutes.

France‘s view, issued a day after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah brokered by the US and France, was condemned by rights groups. Other countries including Italy have also questioned the legality of the mandate.

A statement by the French Foreign Ministry said it would continue to work closely with Netanyahu.

Paris has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position, after the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, and a leader of the Hamas Palestinian terrorist group.

After initially saying it would adhere to the ICC statutes, France‘s foreign ministry fine-tuned that in a second statement on Nov. 22 amid concerns that Israel could scupper efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it noted that the court’s decision merely formalized an accusation.

On Wednesday, the ministry pointed out that the Rome Statute that established the ICC provided that a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations “with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC.”

“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender.”

The French ministry statement, referring to what it called the historic friendship between two democracies committed to the rule of law, said France intended to continue to work closely with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities “to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East.”

The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. Other countries including the US have similarly not signed the ICC charter. However, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, despite no such state being recognized under international law.

Rights groups suggested France had tempered its response in order to maintain a working relationship with Netanyahu and his government.

“Some shocking nonsense from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office – not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one,” Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch, said on X.

He pointed to article 27 of the Rome Statute on the “irrelevance of official capacity.”

Amnesty called France‘s position “deeply problematic.”

“Rather than inferring that ICC indictees may enjoy immunity, France should expressly confirm its acceptance of the unequivocal legal duty under the Rome Statute to carry out arrest warrants.”

Israeli leaders have lamabsted the ICC’s allegations against Netanyahu and Gallant as false, politically motivated, and “antisemitic.”

The US similarly rejected the arrest warrants for the Israelis.

The post France Believes Israel’s Netanyahu Has Immunity From ICC Arrest Warrant first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Israeli military, Jenin area, West Bank, August 31, 2024. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS

JNS.org — Israel’s security forces recently thwarted an attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle heavy weaponry to Palestinian terrorist cells in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said on Wednesday.

Israeli intelligence believes that the arms were sent by Unit 4000 — the special operations division of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization — and Unit 18840, the special operations unit of its Quds Force in Syria.

Among the weapons seized by Israel were 40 standard large Claymore mines, including detonators and wireless activation systems; 37 handguns; 33 improvised Claymore mines; 24 RPG-18 and RPG-22 rockets; 20 60mm mortar shells; seven Hunter sniper rifles; six RPG-7 launchers; six M16 rifles and 1 M4 rifle, along with ammunition; three 107mm rockets; and two 60mm mortar barrels, the joint statement said.

The majority of the weapons were buried in a location that was discovered by Israeli forces after the shipment was intercepted.

SEIZED: Iranian weapons used to arm terrorists in Judea and Samaria

The smuggling was orchestrated by Iran’s IRGC 4000th Division, led by Jawad Ghafari, and the Quds Force’s Unit 840 in Syria, commanded by Etsar Bakri.

The weapons seized included rockets, Claymore… pic.twitter.com/AlUn08pGye

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 27, 2024

The statement noted that Israeli security forces in recent months have “identified attempts by Iranian forces to resume smuggling advanced weapons into Israel, intended for the Judea and Samaria area [the West Bank].”

“This is part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to destabilize the region’s security by arming terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria, to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” it continued.

The IDF and Shin Bet vowed to “continue to monitor and thwart in advance any Iranian activity aimed at smuggling weapons into Israel and the Judea and Samaria area.”

In two separate operations in the past week, Israel Police officers foiled attempts by Israeli Arab citizens to smuggle large quantities of ammunition from northern Israel across the West Bank security barrier.

On Monday, a female resident of the Israeli Arab town of Kfar Qasim was pulled over by police officers near Yokneam. A search of her vehicle revealed several boxes containing more than 6,000 ammunition rounds.

On Friday, two men from Ma’ale Iron, a local council made up of five Arab towns near Megiddo, were caught attempting to transport a larger stockpile of over 20,000 bullets. The Arab suspects were pulled over at a junction a mere minutes’ drive away from the Samaria security barrier.

Earlier this month, Palestinian terrorists in western Samaria for the first time tried to fire a rocket with powerful explosives at Israel’s central region. The terrorist rocket, whose warhead contained high explosives with the potential to cause mass casualties, was discovered in bushes in the village of Budrus near Ramallah, about six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel Hayom reported on Nov. 13.

The outlet noted that this marked the first time that a “high quality” (e.g., non-improvised) rocket warhead was found in the West Bank. It was also the first time a rocket was located in the area but outside northern Samaria.

In June, Palestinian Authority security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster that Iranian-backed terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets at central Israel from the West Bank within a year.

The Islamic Republic continues to instigate terrorism in the West Bank by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli, and Iranian officials.

The majority of the weapons smuggled into the West Bank are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the US and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

In the first six months of 2024, the West Bank saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).

During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges, and 109 shootings.

Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in the West Bank between January and July, the rescue group said.

The post Israel Intercepts Vast Iranian Arms Shipment Intended for West Bank first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

McGill University has canceled an on-campus event planned by Jewish students—and temporarily halted bookings for all extracurricular activities—following threats of violence along with a death threat, as outlined in a […]

The post McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.