It is an "absurd idea" that the Israeli prime minister cannot visit the country, Friedrich Merz has said

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is free to visit Germany without fear of being detained under an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the country's presumed next chancellor, has said.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, alleging that they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict. Israel has rejected the accusations, dismissing them as anti-Semitic.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Merz, whose party recently won the German parliamentary election, revealed that he had invited Netanyahu for a visit, despite Berlin being a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty governing the ICC.

"I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany," he said. "We would find ways and means for him to visit Germany and leave again without being arrested."

Netanyahu's office later confirmed the conversation and the invitation, stating that the Israeli prime minister noted Merz's "overt defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the Prime Minister a war criminal."

The ICC fired back at Merz's remarks, saying "it is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court's legal decisions." The CDU leader also faced criticism from Germany's Left Party, which described the invitation to Netanyahu as a "disaster" and accused Merz of "double standards."

"If [Russian President] Vladimir Putin comes to Germany, then this arrest warrant must be implemented. The same applies to Netanyahu," the party's co-leader, Jan van Aken, said, referring to accusations that the Russian leader is responsible for the forced deportation of children from Ukraine. Moscow has denied the allegations.

Israel, like the US, Russia, and China, does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction. However, while all EU members are signatories to the Rome Statute, many of them, including France, the Czech Republic, and Austria, have expressed skepticism about Netanyahu's arrest warrant, while Hungary has explicitly refused to comply.

Germany has also previously expressed doubts about the document, insisting that it has a "historical responsibility" to Israel, referring to the Nazi Holocaust policy against the Jewish population.