Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany’s next chancellor, says he would make sure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can visit Germany despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to reporters, a day after his conservative Christian Democratic Union 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 an earlier statement, Netanyahu’s office said 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 defense minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas commander Mohammed Deif on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Both Israel and Hamas say Deif was killed in July in an Israeli air strike.
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.
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