Germany’s incoming chancellor to invite Israeli premier for official visit despite ICC arrest warrant

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an official visit to Germany, Netanyahu’s office said Monday.

In a statement, the office called the invitation “overt defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the Prime Minister a war criminal.”

The ICC issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 48,300 people were killed in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The assault was brought to a halt under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold last month.

According to the statement, the Israeli premier congratulated Merz on his victory in Germany’s parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) won 28.6% of the vote, according to preliminary official results. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) faced a historic defeat in the elections, projected to receive 16.3% - the lowest vote share for the center-left party since 1949.