Israel aims to contain fallout from arrest warrant request backed by some allies

Israel still has the support of its top ally, the United States, as well as other Western countries that spoke out against the decision. File Picture: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool Photo via AP

Israel’s foreign minister is heading to France in a bid to contain the fallout from the decision by the prosecutor of the world court to request arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.

France, as well as Belgium and Slovenia, each said on Monday they backed the move by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, who accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh – of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.