ICC ruling: Germany not keen on arresting Netanyahu

Admin I Saturday, November 23, 2024

 

BERLIN – The German government has not yet decided how it will deal with the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He also condemned President Vladimir Putin of Russia for it’s new hypersonic missiles, a new range of intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM.

Spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Friday said the government was carefully examining “domestic steps” following the court’s decision.

A decision on whether to arrest Netanyahu or his former defence minister Yoav Gallant would follow in the case that either were expected to visit Germany, Hebestreit said.

The comments came one day after the court in The Hague issued the warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes relating to the conflict in Gaza.

The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said all EU countries must carry out arrest warrants issued by the ICC, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already rejected the court’s ruling.

Hebestreit says Germany is a major supporter of the ICC, but stressed that the country shares “unique relations and a great responsibility with Israel.”

Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz has called Russia’s use of an experimental new missile in Ukraine a “terrible escalation” as he defended his administration’s policy on the conflict.

Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authorization of the strike, which hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, was a “terrible escalation, just like the use of North Korean soldiers who are now being deployed and dying in this war for Putin’s imperial dream.”

However, Scholz maintained that his government’s refusal to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles to hit Russian territory was correct.

He said it was necessary to ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not escalate into a full-blown war between Russia and NATO, calling for prudence. “I stand by that,” Scholz said.