Germany’s likely next Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said yesterday that he will “find a way” to allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the country despite an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This came a day after Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) won Sunday’s general election.
“I think it’s a really absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister can’t visit the Federal Republic of Germany. He will be able to visit Germany,” he added.
“I told [Netanyahu] that we should see each other soon after the government is formed,” Merz said. “In the event that he plans to visit Germany, I have committed myself to find a way to ensure that he can visit Germany and leave again without being arrested,” he assured.
Netanyahu’s office previously said Merz had invited the Israeli prime minister “to make an official state visit to the country in defiance of the disreputable International Criminal Court’s decision to label Netanyahu a war criminal.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office said Netanyahu had congratulated Merz in a phone call after his bloc won on Sunday.
