Israel condemned the statement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that his country "would arrest and expel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him," according to Fox News. Avi Hayman, spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, told Fox News, "I am old enough to remember that the German leader came here just days after October 7 and declared that Hamas is the new Nazi regime, seeking to carry out genocide against the Jews. Many people around the world need to check their moral compass."
When asked last Wednesday whether Berlin would execute a possible arrest order from the International Criminal Court, German spokesman Steffen Hebestreit replied, "Of course. Yes, we respect the law," according to media reports. Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor also condemned the statement in a message posted on the platform "X." He wrote, "This is disgraceful; the public statement that Israel has the right to defend itself loses credibility if our hands are tied when we defend ourselves."
In this context, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, remarked that "it is inconceivable for any German government to arrest the democratically elected Prime Minister of the Jewish state based on blood lies. Instead, it should arrest all the anti-Semites attacking Jews in the streets of its country. This must never, ever happen."
Earlier this week, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as against three Hamas leaders.
