SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 11.24.2024

Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted by the international war crimes tribunal. What will Germany do if The Israeli Prime Minister sets foot in Germany?

The German government is one of 124 countries who are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Germany was perpetrator of the Holocaust which saw the extermination of six million, mostly Jews, during the Nazi reign of terror (1933-1945), Germany is in a tough position.

Since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, which resulted in the deaths 1200 people, Netanyahu has led the ferocious reprisal against the people of Gaza. Nearly 50,000 people have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Supplied with American weapons.

There is no doubt unrepentant and compromising Netanyahu must be held accountable.

What will Germany do to hold the accused leader of the Jewish state liable for his war crimes?

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 11.22.2024

The German minority government made up of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens would definitely have preferred to avoid the issue, even if officials should have seen it coming a long time ago: The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The court said it had found sufficient evidence that both were complicit in crimes against humanity and war crimes as part of Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza. The military campaign began after Gaza-based group Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif with the same charges, even though Israel says it killed Deif in July.

Germany is regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which began its activities in July 2002 and is supported by 124  states. However, it does not include globally important states such as the US or Russia.

What is important in the current case is that the court has no means of enforcing the arrest warrants itself. Member states — including Germany — are formally obliged to take wanted persons into custody should they cross their borders. 

https://www.dw.com/en/would-benjamin-netanyahu-be-arrested-in-germany/a-70863500