ATHENS

French left-wing opposition party The Ecologists demanded Monday that the government actively participate in an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While Netanyahu himself has raised the possibility of the ICC issuing an arrest warrant against him and certain members of the Israeli government, “we are demanding a clear commitment from France by actively participating in the current investigation,” the party said in a statement.

“The possible issuance by the ICC of arrest warrants against the main decisionmakers of the Israeli government must finally cause a rupture in French and European diplomacy (from Israel),” it said.

Stressing that France and the other European Union countries must fully respect the commitment of the signatory countries to the Treaty of Rome, it urged the government to publicly affirm that it will respect the obligations that this would represent, and in particular that of cooperation under Chapter IX of the treaty, which founded the ICC.

“That is to say, arrest on its territory those who would be targeted by an arrest warrant, as well as respond to any request issued by the ICC under Article 93 of the Treaty,” it said.

“France must do more,” it added, calling on the government to provide technical and financial means to the ICC to gather and protect evidence of Israeli crimes.​​​​​​​

The Israeli Foreign Ministry earlier instructed its embassies worldwide to be prepared for potential repercussions if the ICC issues arrest warrants against Israeli officials for war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,600 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.