German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (GPO)
After chairman of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats invited Israeli Prime Minister to visit, International Criminal Court slams pledge to ensure premier will not face prosecution while in Europe.
By World Israel News Staff
The leader of Germany’s largest political party and the candidate most likely to replace outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under fire this week after he invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the country.
On Sunday, an alliance of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) won a combined 208 seats in the 630-member German parliament, defeating the center-left SPD, which plummeted to third place, behind the rightist Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).
The election has positioned CDU/CSU chairman Friedrich Merz as the natural candidate for the chancellorship, though he will face tough coalition talks to secure a majority as long as he adheres to his pledge not to form a government with the AfD.
Hours after his victory, Merz spoke by phone with Netanyahu, who congratulated him on his victory and on becoming chancellor-designate.
During their talk, Merz invited Netanyahu to visit Germany, pledging to ensure that the Israeli premier would not face prosecution under the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued last year over the war against Hamas.
“Chancellor-designate Merz thanked the Prime Minister for the conversation and said that he would invite him 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,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.
A day later, Merz confirmed to reporters that he had indeed invited Netanyahu to visit Germany in defiance of the ICC arrest warrant.
“I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany,” Merz said.
His government, Merz continued, “would find ways and means for him to visit Germany and leave again without being arrested.”
The ICC responded by rejecting the right of individual ICC member states to refuse enforcement of court orders.
“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court’s legal decisions,” the ICC stated.
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