After his statements regarding inviting Netanyahu to visit Germany… The International Criminal Court warns Friedrich Merz

The International Criminal Court on Monday criticized a statement by Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become the next German chancellor after his bloc won the elections, in which he expressed his desire to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The International Criminal Court stated that “states don’t have the right to unilaterally determine the validity of the court’s legal rulings,” adding, “Implementing the court’s decisions is a legal obligation under the Rome Statute”.

Friedrich Merz had confirmed that he would ensure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could visit Germany, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him.

Merz, who is expected to take over as German chancellor after his Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union coalition came first in Sunday’s election, told a news conference he had spoken to Netanyahu.

He added, “I told him that we have to meet shortly after the government is formed”.

He continued, “If he is planning to visit Germany, I’ve confirmed my commitment to finding a way to ensure that he can visit and leave Germany without being arrested”.

Merz considered that the inability of an Israeli prime minister to visit Germany is a “completely ridiculous idea”.

For his part, Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he congratulated Merz and that the winner of the German elections invited the Israeli prime minister to visit the country.

Mertz thanked the Israeli prime minister for his call and said he would extend an official invitation to him to visit Germany, in open defiance of the International Criminal Court’s shameful decision to designate the prime minister a war criminal.