Despite ICC warrants: German Chancellor-designate Merz invites PM Netanyahu for visit after election victory

Germany’s conservative Christian-Democratic Union Party won Sunday's parliamentary elections, making its leader and vocal supporter of Israel, Friedrich Merz, Germany’s probable next chancellor.

Soon after the first results were published on Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Merz in “a warm conversation.”

Chancellor-designate Merz “said that he would invite him to make an official visit to Germany, in overt defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the Prime Minister a war criminal,” the Prime Minister's Office noted.

Netanyahu also stated that he is "looking forward to working closely with your upcoming government to further strengthen the partnership between our two countries."

Merz's declaration contradicts the stance of the previous government, which said Germany would “of course” arrest Netanyahu if the International Criminal Court (ICC) were to issue warrants for alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also congratulated Merz, who he called “a friend of Israel.” Sa’ar added he was convinced that Merz “will strengthen and deepen the relationship between the people of Germany and the people of Israel.”

I congratulate @_FriedrichMerz for his victory in the elections in Germany.
I am convinced that, as a friend of Israel, you will strengthen and deepen the relationship between the people of Germany and the people of Israel.
We look forward to your first visit in Jerusalem as… pic.twitter.com/izfbJaaXrQ

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 23, 2025

Before the elections, Merz vowed to continue arms sales to Israel without any limitations. He also visited Israel shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack to express his solidarity.

When asked whether Germany should provide asylum to Palestinian refugees from Gaza, Merz responded: “We already have enough young antisemitic men in the country.”

Merz’s Union, an alliance of the two conservative CDU/CSU parties, came in first place with 28.5% of the votes.

The right-wing party, "Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)," meanwhile, reached its best result ever, mainly campaigning on limiting migration to reach second place with 20.8% of the votes.

The AfD party has faced a boycott from all other parties over allegations of right-wing extremism, and even Neo-Nazism, and is under surveillance by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

Due to these allegations, Germany's Jewish community and Israeli officials have refrained from open contact with the party, despite its historically strong support for Israel and its policies to limit migration from majority-Muslim, often strongly antisemitic countries.

After the Oct. 7 terror attack, the party declared: “Israel and the Jewish people can count on our full solidarity.”

has also invoked Germany’s long-standing policy against supplying weapons to conflict zones to criticize German arms exports to Israel during the war

In recent months, AfD has received vocal support from Elon Musk, as well as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who criticized the unified boycott against the right-wing party, dubbed the “Brandmauer” (firewall), as undemocratic.

Due to the firewall, the union’s only possible partner for the next government is the Social Democrat Party (SPD), led by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who received a historically low 16% of the votes, down from another historic low of 25% in the last election.

With Scholz expected to step down, the new strong man in the party will be SPD party co-chair Lars Klingbeil.

While opposing calls within the party to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza War last month, Klingbeil has also noted there were “serious doubts” about the “proportionality” of Israel’s war in Gaza. He said the Israeli government was making a “big mistake” by questioning the two-state solution.

The two other parties taking part in the current coalition – the left-wing Greens and the liberal FDP – were punished by voters. The Green Party scored only 12%, while the FDP failed to cross the 5% threshold.

The far-left party, "Die Linke," emerged as one of the big winners in the elections, rising to 8.7% amid a social media-fueled surge. The party is seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinians than to Israel.

One of its co-chairs, Jan van Aken, caused outrage after suggesting he didn’t know “how” Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir “died in captivity.”

After criticism, he clarified he meant to express that Hamas was responsible for their deaths. “I have learned to only rely on proven facts. The one fact here: Hamas bears sole blame,” he wrote on 𝕏.

The BSW party, which splintered from Die Linke, and is similarly hostile to Israel, came in just below the threshold at 4.9% of the votes.