The German minority government of the and the would definitely have preferred to avoid the issue, even though they should have seen it coming a long time ago: The in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The court justified its decision saying it had found sufficient evidence indicating that both were complicit in crimes against humanity and war crimes as part of in the Gaza Strip and Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif with the same charges.
Germany is regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which began its activities in July 2002 and is supported by 124 states. However, it does not include globally important states such as the US or Russia.
What is important in the current case is that the court has means of enforcing the arrest warrants itself. However, its member states — including Germany — are formally obliged to take wanted persons into custody should they enter their borders.
But there is el. Which is why Germany’s reactions to the decision in The Hague have been mixed. Speaking on ARD television from the climate conference in Baku, Foreign Minister (Greens) was the first to react. She said: “We abide by the law at the national, European, and international level. And that is why we are now examining exactly what this means for us in terms of its international application.”
A short time later, the German government followed this up with a press release in Berlin stating: “The German government has acknowledged the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.”
As in Baerbock’s statement, the word “examination” appears here, too, which is what the government now plans to carry out. And it goes on to say: “Further action will be taken only once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are expected to visit Germany.”
No imminent plans for a Netanyahu visit
Netanyahu was last in Germany around a year and a half ago. And on Friday, other German government politicians stressed, almost with relief, that a visit was not to be expected in the foreseeable future.
The last time Israel’s head of government was in Berlin for political talks was in March 2023, a good six months before the murderous attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7. Hamas is a militant, Islamist Palestinian group. The European Union, as well as the US, Germany and other countries, have listed it as a terrorist organization.
Israel is one of the ten countries with which Germany holds intergovernmental consultations: meetings in which all members of each country’s cabinet meet. This purpose is to emphasize the special bilateral relationship between the countries. The first such meeting took place in Jerusalem in 2008 under then-Chancellor (CDU), and the last was in October 2018.
Government spokesman finds it difficult to imagine an arrest
How does the German government intend to handle the ruling? This is what many journalists wanted to know at a recent press conference. In response to a question about the conflict between the ruling of Criminal Court and showing solidarity with Israel, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said: “On the one hand, there is the importance of the International Criminal Court, which we strongly support, and on the other hand there is the historical responsibility you mentioned. This statement should be considered in the light of these two points. I would be inclined to say that I have difficulty imagining that we would make arrests in Germany on this basis.”
While the government is struggling to find a clear position between its principled support for Israel and its support for the Criminal Court, other German politicians have had fewer qualms. For example, Boris Rhein (CDU), who heads the government of Germany’s state of Hesse, called the arrest warrants “absurd” on Friday. Rhein added that Israel has been at war for more than a year, a war that the terrorist organization Hamas unleashed with its barbaric attack on innocent citizens: “For me, it is completely out of the question that a democratically elected prime minister from Israel would be arrested on German soil for defending his country against terrorists.”
But Rhein also knows that it is currently difficult to imagine Netanyahu visiting Germany.
This article was originally written in German.
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