International Criminal Court
Germany is examining what to do after an arrest warrant for Netanyahu
The federal government is facing a dilemma after the arrest warrant against Israel’s head of government. It is still unclear how it will position itself. For Hungary, however, it is clear: the arrest warrant will be ignored.
Following the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the federal government has not yet decided on how to proceed. Berlin finds itself in a dilemma: on the one hand, Germany is a state party and a supporter of the ICC, but also supports Israel’s right to self-defense after the Hamas terrorist attack last year. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on the other hand, took a clear position: He demonstratively extended an invitation to Netanyahu and wants to ignore the arrest warrant – even though his country is also a contracting state to the ICC.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Netanyahu and the recently fired Israeli Defense Minister Galant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza war. This is highly controversial internationally. Allies of Israel criticize the decision, while Iran and the Palestinian Authority celebrate it.
The judges in The Hague also issued an arrest warrant against a leader of the terrorist organization Hamas – Mohammad Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, known by the surname Deif. However, according to Israeli reports, he is no longer alive.
Baerbock: Netanyahu’s entry is a “hypothetical question”
Regarding the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant, Germany’s government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that the resulting “domestic steps” would be carefully examined. Nothing further would happen until it was foreseeable that Netanyahu and Galant would be staying in Germany.
Germany is one of the Court’s biggest supporters. “This attitude is also the result of German history. At the same time, the consequence of German history is that we have unique relationships and great responsibility with Israel,” he added. The federal government was involved in drafting the ICC statute. She took note of the Court’s decision.
Hebestreit added to journalists in Berlin: “I could be tempted to say that I find it difficult to imagine us carrying out arrests in Germany on this basis.” He did not know anything about the Israeli Prime Minister’s travel plans. There are also “no acute requests from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office that he wants to come to Germany.”
The foreign policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Jürgen Hardt (CDU), explained: “For us as the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, it would be inconceivable that a democratically elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel would be arrested on German soil.” CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt called the arrest warrant against Netanyahu a “bottomless stupidity” and added: “To attack a democratic head of government who is defending his country under attack by terror and Israel’s right to exist in such a way is an unimaginable derailment.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the broadcasters RTL and ntv that Germany “naturally adheres to the law at national, European and international level.” She called Netanyahu’s possible entry into the European Union a “hypothetical question.” “But we are now examining this carefully to see how we will deal with it.”
Hungary demonstratively invites you
There is already an invitation to Netanyahu from the EU: Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Orban demonstratively extended it after the arrest warrant. The ICC’s decision overrides international law and “adds fuel to the fire,” Orban said on Hungarian state radio. “That’s why I will invite Benjamin Netanyahu today, which will have no consequences for him. We will reject the arrest warrant if he accepts the invitation.” Orban has long had good relations with Netanyahu.
Israel’s head of government thanked Orban for his support, Netanyahu’s office said. Hungary is on the side of justice. Whether he would accept Orban’s invitation initially remained open.
This is not the first time that Hungary has refused to implement an ICC arrest warrant. When the court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin last year for war crimes in Ukraine, the government in Budapest also announced that it would not carry it out.
States party to the ICC are actually obliged to execute the arrest warrants. However, a refusal to arrest and extradite Netanyahu would initially have no direct consequences. Such a case can be referred to the Conference of the States Parties, which decides on the consequences. On several occasions, however, states have only been criticized by the conference in such cases. There have been no sanctions so far.
Most recently, Mongolia refused to arrest Putin during a visit to the country. This will be the topic at the upcoming Conference of the Parties in The Hague at the beginning of December.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
