The article is misleading. The official statement is that, because of our Nazi past, we have a special relationship with both the international Court of Justice and with Israel, so we’re just not going to formulate a decision until Netanyahu actually plans to visit Germany. In effect, this means that Netanyahu cannot visit Germany, because there is a non-zero chance of him getting arrested.

In a press conference, when repeatedly asked to clarify this statement, the speaker explained why this statement is so neutral once more and then said “I could get carried away, saying I find it hard to imagine that arrests might be carried out in Germany on this basis”.

So, it’s formulated as:

• his opinion
• that he’s explicitly saying, he’s not actually saying it,
• and after repeatedly pointing out that the official position is not that.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/world-reacts-to-icc-arrest-warrants-for-israels-netanyahu-gallant