A joint statement of Group of Seven foreign ministers is set to avoid mentioning the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite an effort by the Italian hosts to find a common position on it.

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.

Paris says that while it respects the international justice system, Israel's leaders cannot be held accountable by The Hague as the country is not an ICC member