The foreign ministry did not say outright that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would be free to travel to France, but it argued that an I.C.C. rule on immunity may apply to him.

The French government has claimed the Israeli Prime Minister has immunity from the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for war crimes -- on the grounds that Israel isn’t an ICC member.

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