Germany is "examining" how to respond to the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday.
"We are now of course examining exactly what that means for implementation in Germany," Baerbock told public broadcaster ARD.
Whether German authorities would move to arrest Netanyahu or former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, who also had a warrant issued against him, is currently "theoretical", Baerbock said.
Germany is "bound by" the court as a country which recognises the body and respects international law, she said.
The ICC issued the arrest warrants on Thursday in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, set off by the militant Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack.
In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, the court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an air strike last July.
Hamas has never confirmed his death.
The unprecedented move drew a furious reaction from Netanyahu, who denounced it as anti-Semitic and said the court's accusations were "absurd and false".
Many of Israel's allies have also slammed the warrants, with US President Joe Biden calling the move "outrageous".
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell meanwhile said implementation of the warrants was "not a political decision".