‘A fatal message’: Rights group urges German president to cancel Netanyahu meeting

Amnesty International has called on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to cancel his planned meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the Israeli prime minister’s role in war crimes and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“Steinmeier’s visit is definitely not appropriate,” said Katja Muller-Fahlbusch, a Middle East expert at Amnesty International’s German branch, in an interview with Anadolu.

“His planned meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sends a fatal message … of German complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Yesterday, amid public protests in Berlin, Steinmeier welcomed Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Bellevue Palace with full military honours to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel.

Steinmeier is travelling to Israel with Herzog today, where he is scheduled to meet Netanyahu and hold discussions with members of the Knesset.

According to Muller-Fahlbusch, Amnesty International’s German branch organised a campaign where people wrote letters to President Steinmeier, urging him to cancel his scheduled meeting with Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). There is an arrest warrant,” she said, referring to the ICC warrants issued in November 2024 over war crimes in Gaza, where Israel’s ongoing assault has killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children.

“The German president is obliged not to meet him, by international law, by European rules and standards. He should not, he cannot, he must not meet Benjamin Netanyahu. This is what we are calling for,” the Amnesty official said.

She added that Steinmeier should use his position to “publicly denounce war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the genocide that is being committed by Israel.”

“Germany, of course, should also immediately stop all deliveries of arms to Israel,” she said.