Those Who Denounce the ICC Decision

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has now issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The decision to do so was at the behest of prosecutor Karim Khan, who is himself under investigation for sexual misconduct. Israel, of course, is not a party to the Rome Statute and not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC. President Biden has quite correctly described the decision as “outrageous,” and made clear that Washington will not enforce the decision, should Netanyahu come to the United States. The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, has invited Netanyahu to visit, as a way of expressing his own dismay and disgust at the ICC’s decision. Geert Wilders, the leader of the largest party in the Netherlands, though not himself a member of the government, has similarly denounced the ICC for issuing these arrest warrants. Wilders said on social media that “Instead of receiving international understanding and support, you are confronted with an arrest warrant. The world has gone mad. I am proud to meet my friend Netanyahu soon in Israel.”

In Italy, Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and leader of the political party La Lega, has said that “I plan to meet with members of the Israeli government soon, and if Netanyahu came to Italy, he would be welcome. The war criminals are others.” He added that it was “disrespectful” to call “the prime minister of one of the few democracies in the Middle East” a war criminal. The prime minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, has rejected the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, writing that “the ICC’s unfortunate ruling undermines authority in other cases by equating the elected representatives of a democratic state with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organization.” The Foreign Minister of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, called the warrant for Netanyahu “incomprehensible and ludicrous.” How many more countries will denounce the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Netanyahu and Gallant in the next few weeks?

Then there is Germany. Given its history, the Germans are naturally reluctant to join those opposed to the Jewish state. But it would be better if Germany refused to honor those arrest warrants, not because of that unwillingness, but for the same reason the United States is doing so: because those warrants are “outrageous.” More on Germany and the ICC decision can be found here: “Berlin won’t arrest Netanyahu due to Germany’s Nazi history, officials estimate,” Jerusalem Post, November 23, 2024:

German officials alluded [sic for “hinted”] that the country would not arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu per the International Criminal Court ruling due to the country’s Nazi history, The Telegraph reported on Friday.

Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands, implied that they would arrest Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant after the ICC issued warrants for the two’s arrest on Thursday….

All EU countries are court members, meaning they are mandated to enforce ICC warrants.

However, because of Germany’s complex relationship with Israel and antisemitism, German officials said that they found it difficult to believe that the country would carry out the warrant….

Dealings with Israel are for Germany always a matter of great delicacy, given the history of Nazi Germany, which is why the Foreign Minister, while having said her country would comply with the ICC “at every level,” does not come right out and say that yes, it will arrest the Prime Minister of the Jewish state. The Germans are still trying to figure out how to handle such a matter.

Prime Minister Olaf Scholz should ignore the intention of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to comply with the ICC’s demand. Instead, Germany should forthrightly declare that it will not enforce the ICC’s arrest warrants, and make clear that its refusal to do so is not because of a need to compensate for its Nazi past but, rather, because — as half a dozen other leaders, including Biden, Orbán, Wilders, Salvini, Fiala, and Milei have clearly stated — the ICC’s decision was “outrageous.” “The ICC has no jurisdiction over the state of Israel,” Prime Minister Olaf Scholz should remind the world, “nor is there a state called ‘Palestine’ that is subject to the ICC’s jurisdiction. It is grotesque to compare the democratic state of Israel trying to protect its people from attack with a terrorist group hellbent on murdering the citizens of that state. We in Germany will have no part of this kangaroo court.”

That’s all that Germany needs to say. No hint of “we’d like to oblige the ICC but, you see, there’s this history that prevents us from doing the right thing.” No, in rejecting the ICC’s demand, Germany must make clear that it is doing the right thing.