GERMANY will abide by the law.
Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, told reporters that Germany will not hesitate to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for the pair.
The German spokesman added that the country takes the ICC’s decisions seriously and in implementing them.
On Monday, the ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri who is said to be the mastermind behind the October 7 attack launched by Hamas against Israel.
” I can also confirm today that I have reasonable grounds to believe…and allegations of crimes of committing other inhuman acts,” Karim Khan ICC Prosecutor said.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office slammed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration following his spokesperson’s remark.
Netanyahu himself condemned the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants against him and the defense minister which he described as a travesty of justice and a disgrace. He also slammed Khan for comparing the leaders of Israel with the members of Hamas whom he said killed, burned, and raped women during the October 7 attack as well as taking hundreds of hostages.
” What a travesty of justice! What a disgrace! …. humanitarian assistance reaches those in need in Gaza,” Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel said.
In slight contrast with Hebestreit’s statement, Germany’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said that though it respects the independence and procedures of the ICC, it has some concerns over the independent judicial body’s jurisdiction and how the system of its investigations complements the affected states.
The ICC can only prosecute crimes where the local jurisdiction is unable or unwilling to do so under the principle of complementarity.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to directly answer whether his country would issue a warrant against Netanyahu but said there’s no warrant yet and acknowledged that Israel is “a democratic state with a strong and independent judiciary.”
Germany has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout its war with Hamas in Gaza.
