France caused a stir by declaring that the Israeli leader enjoyed “immunity” from the ICC arrest warrant. It's a legal statement, but also a highly political one, as Israel has threatened to remove France from the Lebanese Ceasefire Monitoring Committee.

Israel is to lodge an appeal against the arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday.

According to the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel, the statement indicated that although Tel Aviv rejects the ICC’s ruling, it formally notified the court of its intention to present an appeal. The appeal, Netanyahu’s office claims, will demonstrate “how absurd and without foundation” the arrest warrants are.