Israel Blasts Germany’s Pledge to Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu on ICC Warrant

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration after it stated that Germany would arrest and deport Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues a warrant for his detention and extradition.

“I am old enough to remember the German leader coming here days after October 7 and stating the Hamas are the new Nazis.

They seek genocide against the Jews. Many in the world need to check their moral compass and be on the right side of history,” said Avi Hyman, a spokesman for Netanyahu, to Fox News Digital.

On Wednesday, Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, confirmed that Germany would comply with an ICC arrest order against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes during Israel’s operations against Hamas in Gaza. Hebestreit stated, “Of course, we will abide by the law.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles expressed disbelief, saying, “It is beyond comprehension that any German government would arrest the democratically elected PM of the Jewish state on blood libel lies.

It should be arresting all the antisemites attacking Jews on the streets of its nation. Never, never again.”

The controversy has revived discussions about Germany’s historical responsibility due to the Holocaust, where the Nazis murdered six million Jews.

Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, criticized the ICC chief prosecutor on X, saying, “The Chief Prosecutor equates a democratic government with Hamas, thereby demonizing and delegitimizing Israel and the Jewish people.

He has completely lost his moral compass. Germany has a responsibility to readjust this compass.”

Prosor emphasized that Germany’s foundational commitment to Israel’s security, as stated by former Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2008, is being tested.

Merkel had asserted that Germany’s existence is intertwined with the security of Israel and the prevention of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Scholz, a member of the Social Democratic Party, has faced previous criticism for not countering antisemitic statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in 2022.

Abbas had accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” in Berlin, the historical centre of the Holocaust’s planning.

Germany is a significant supporter and top donor to the ICC. Netanyahu has denounced the ICC’s actions as a modern form of antisemitism, mainly targeting Israel while it combats Hamas, which Iran backs.

A spokesperson for the German government commented, “The chief prosecutor’s accusations are serious and must be substantiated.”

Critics argue that the ICC’s founding mission, inspired by the atrocities of Nazi Germany, has been undermined by its actions against Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy.

Fox News has not received a response from Chancellor Scholz’s office or German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.