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The Israeli Prime Minister is threatened by the international arrest warrant of the International Court of The Hague. Germany is thus in a dilemma between the state cause for Israel and international law.
These were headlines the German government would not want to see: "Scholz's spokesman hints: Germany would arrest Netanyahu," headlined Germany's highest-circulation newspaper Bild Zeitung on Wednesday evening (22.05.) Even The "Welt" newspaper wrote: "Germany would extradite Netanyahu, government spokesman understands."
Can this be foreseen? For Germany to arrest the political leader of the Israeli state or even hand him over, if the international arrest warrant of the International Court of Justice of The Hague was issued against the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu? For the leader of the strongest opposition party, the CDU, Friedrich Merz, the mere thought of it is unbearable. "The German government's silence until the government spokesman hinted that Netanyahu on German soil would be arrested is really turning into a scandal," Merz told Bild-Zeitung.
Request for lawsuit against Netanyahu and Minister Gallant
What happened? The Chief Prosecutor of the International Court of The Hague, the British lawyer, Karim Khan, on Monday (20.05.) due to suspicions of crimes against humanity and war crimes, applied for an arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, as well as against three leaders of the Palestinian radical-Islamic organization, Hamas. Reason; The immense suffering of people in the Gaza Strip, after Israel retaliated heavily militarily following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 last year. Khan specifically accuses Netanyahu and his minister of using the starvation of people in the Gaza Strip as a weapon of war.
So there are requests for arrest warrants against the leaders of both Israel and Hamas, the organization that many Western countries, including Germany, categorize as a terrorist organization. Khan simultaneously submitted the requests which are being verified and considered by the court. Is he putting the head of the Israeli government on a scale with the three heads of Hamas? This is exactly what makes Merz angry. "Simply requesting an arrest warrant at the same time as against the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, and the leader of Hamas, Sinvar, is an absurd reversal of the victim and the perpetrators of the crime," the head of the CDU emphasized.
A tense government
How difficult it is for the German government to take a clear position in this case, it became evident at the press conference with the spokesman of the German chancellor, Steffen Hebestreit. A visibly tense Hebestreit had to face rumors on Wednesday that Scholz was "shocked" by the chief prosecutor's announcement. Hebestreit said that "I cannot report shock and anger. We have made it clear that we see this as very critical. And we have clearly recalled the differences regarding the structure of the state of Israel, its independent judiciary."
Would an arrest warrant against Netanyahu be legally correct?
So can the accusations of the court based in The Hague be evaluated differently? Is this because sometimes a rule of law is affected and sometimes not? It is true that even international law experts express reservations, if Khan could have filed the lawsuit against Netanyahu. According to the expert Constantin Ganß in "Tagesspiegel", one of the main rules of the court is that it can become active if the state in question is not willing or able to start its own investigations. As for example in dictatorial countries. But not this in the democratic state of Israel.
The German government's dilemma now: Germany is one of the main supporters of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which since 2002 investigates violations such as genocide or war crimes and gives judgments. Against persons, but not against states. In 2023 alone, the German government gave $20 million to the court. 123 countries support this court, which is not part of the United Nations. But important countries like the USA or Israel do not do this.
Germany and the special relationship with Israel
On the other hand: For Germany, supporting Israel is a state cause, also as a result of Germany's darkest history with the murder of millions of Jews during the Nazi dictatorship. But does this also apply to the head of the government Netanyahu personally? Hebestreit said about this: "Primarily we are supporters of the International Court and it will remain so. We respect the right and the law."
He too criticized Khan's proceedings. "The same thing is that the chief prosecutor chose an interview on CNN, and expressed in one breath the applications for arrest warrants against the three leaders of Hamas and against the Israeli prime minister and the minister of defense."
Harsh criticism against Khan also came from the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, but he also addressed the German government. "Now the state cause is being tested, yes and no." He called the government's assessments "elusive" and added that "the statement that Israel has the right to defend itself loses credibility if our hands are tied to implement it."
Reactions from other countries
Indeed, other countries are clearer in their statements compared to Germany when asked if they would arrest Netanyahu. Hungary said, for example, No. This country supports the International Court of Justice, said Gergely Gulyas, the head of Prime Minister Orban's cabinet office. But in the case of the visit to Hungary, Netanyahu should not wait for arrest. Even a few days ago, the American president, Biden, had described the Hague's request as outrageous. But the US has never supported this court. In Germany the situation is different, and thus even more complicated./ DW
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