Friedrich Merz, who should be the next German Chancellor, says that he would make sure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can visit Germany despite an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Addressing journalists on Monday, one day after his conservative party of the Democratic Christian Union (CDU) won the national elections, Merz declared that he had declared to Netanyahu in a telephone call for congratulations that the pair should bring together after the formation of a new German government.
“In the event that he (Netanyahu) plans to visit Germany, I promised myself that we will find a way to guarantee that he can visit Germany and leave without being arrested,” said Merz from Berlin.
“I think it is a really absurd idea that an Israeli Prime Minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany. He can visit Germany, “he added.
In a previous statement, the Netanyahu office said that Merz had invited the Israeli Prime Minister “to make an official visit to Germany, to a manifest contempt for the scandalous decision of the International Criminal Court to qualify the Prime Minister a criminal of war “.
In November, the ICC issued arrest mandates against Netanyahu and its former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant as well as the commander of Hamas Mohammed Deif for accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel and Hamas say that Deif was killed in July in an Israeli air strike.
The ICC, which is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, responded to Herz’s remarks on Monday, saying that the States had the legal obligation to enforce its decisions.
Any concern that countries may have should be dealt with in the court in a timely and effective manner, the court added.
“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the solidity of the court decisions of the Court.”
Gaza War
Israel condemned the mandates for Netanyahu and Gallant, saying that he had acted in self-defense against the October 2023 attacks in Hamas against Israel.
But human rights defense groups and experts in international law accused Israel of having committed war crimes and bombing the Palestinians without discrimination through the Gaza Strip, which was destroyed in 15 months of war.
More than 48,000 Palestinians were killed during the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. But thousands of others have been missing under the rubble and are presumed dead.
There are “reasonable reasons” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprive the civilian population in Gaza essential to their survival, including food, water and medications and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity ”, the ICC says in its November decision.
The status of Rome, the treaty which established the ICC, includes 124 public parties on six continents.
Under the law, the countries which are part of the ICC are legally obliged to enforce its arrest warrants, the intermediary of human rights, Jonathan Kuttab told Tel Aviv Tribune, after the delivery of the mandates l ‘last year.
“The law operates on the basis of a presumption that people will obey it. This is how all laws are created, ”said Kuttab. “You expect everyone to respect the law. Those who do not respect the law violates the law themselves. »»
Germany was both a faithful ally of Israel and a solid funder for the ICC.
As a member of the court, the country is required to have suspects faced with arrest mandates if they set foot on their soil, but the ICC has no way of enforcing this.
After the CPI’s decision in November, a German government spokesman said the country “would carefully examine” the arrest mandates against Netanyahu and Gallant, but would no longer take a visit to the country.
“The federal government has participated in the drafting of the CPI law and is one of the greatest supporters of the ICC. This position is also the result of German history, “said the spokesperson.
“At the same time, a consequence of German history is that we have a unique relationship and great responsibility towards Israel.”
