Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is maintaining a veto on French involvement in a potential cease-fire in Lebanon unless Paris publicly makes clear that it will not arrest Netanyahu if he travels to the country pursuant to a warrant from the International Criminal Court, even after President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron reached a compromise on the matter, an Israeli official confirmed to Jewish Insider on Monday.

Lebanon has required France to play a central role in monitoring the cease-fire with Israel, should it be reached.

However, Netanyahu rejected French involvement following its response to the ICC announcement on Thursday that in light of “reasonable grounds to believe” they are culpable for war crimes, it was issuing warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior Hamas terrorist Mohammad Deif, whom the IDF said it killed in July. 

The French Foreign Ministry released a statement that it “takes note” of the ICC pre-trial chamber’s decision and “reiterates its commitment to the independent work of the court.” In addition, France noted that “for many months it has also sounded the alarm about the unacceptable nature of civilian losses in the Gaza Strip.” 

Jerusalem interpreted the statement as meaning that France would arrest Netanyahu should he visit the country, and as such, the prime minister said that France could no longer be involved in the cease-fire effort.

Biden spoke with Macron over the weekend to smooth over the differences and allow a role for France in monitoring the potential cease-fire in Lebanon, Israeli and American officials confirmed.

An American official said that Netanyahu’s position was understandable, and Biden and Macron reached an acceptable compromise.

French officials privately clarified to their Israeli counterparts that there are other matters superseding the ICC arrest warrant and that Netanyahu would not be arrested should he visit France.

Netanyahu, however, will only lift his veto if France publicly rejects the arrest warrant, an Israeli official said on Thursday. 

“We are fighting a just war with just means,” an Israeli official said, explaining the prime minister’s stance.

Today’s G7 meeting in Rome could be an opportunity for such a statement, the official suggested.

The French Embassy in Israel declined to comment on the Biden-Macron phone call. An embassy spokesman told JI that “the French position on the ICC Chamber’s decision is clear: France is deeply committed to international justice and its independence.”

Of the 124 countries that are party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Paraguay suggested that they would not comply with the arrest warrant, while Argentina, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Bulgaria criticized the warrant.

Biden administration officials believe that a Lebanon-Israel cease-fire deal may be complete in time for Thanksgiving.

​​Dan Shapiro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, was in Israel on Monday for the first meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and a senior U.S. defense official since he assumed the role. The potential Lebanon cease-fire deal was one of the topics raised in the meeting, and an American official told JI he believes the Israeli security cabinet will approve it in a meeting on Tuesday.

The U.S. will lead a system monitoring Lebanese compliance with the cease-fire, which would include ensuring Hezbollah does not arm itself south of the Litani River. That involvement will mostly entail officials at the U.S. Embassy to Lebanon liaising with the Lebanese Armed Forces, an American official told JI.

One of the continued difficulties in completing the cease-fire deal is that Jerusalem wants freedom of action to stop any moves by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon that would endanger the residents of northern Israel, while Beirut views this as a violation of its sovereignty.