Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany’s next chancellor, has stated that he would make sure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can visit Berlin despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to reporters on Monday, a day after his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party won national elections, Merz said he told Netanyahu in a congratulatory phone call that the pair should meet after a new German government is formed.
“In the event that he [Netanyahu] plans to visit Germany, I have promised myself that we will find a way to ensure that he can visit Germany and leave again without being arrested,” Merz stated.
“I think it’s a really absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister can’t visit the Federal Republic of Germany. He will be able to visit Germany,” he added.
In an earlier statement, Netanyahu’s office announced Merz had invited the Israeli prime minister “to make an official visit to Germany, in overt defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the Prime Minister a war criminal”.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The ICC, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, responded to Herz’s remarks on Monday, saying that states have a legal obligation to enforce its decisions.
Any concerns countries may have should be addressed with the court in a timely and efficient manner, the court added.
“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court’s legal decisions.”
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