Germany vows to take action against Israel as the situation in Gaza changes

Germany’s foreign minister and Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced their harshest criticism yet over Gaza on Tuesday, threatening Israel with undefined actions and vowing Berlin will not export weapons used to violate humanitarian law.

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault, Germany and the United States have consistently supported Israel’s actions despite Israel’s growing international isolation. In addition to Britain, France, and Canada threatening “concrete actions” over Gaza, the European Union is currently reconsidering its Israel policy, which coincides with its reversal.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told television WDR that excessive airstrikes and food and medication shortages had made the situation in Gaza “unbearable” and that Germany’s traditional support for Israel should not be used as leverage.

At a press conference in Finland, Merz had earlier criticized airstrikes on Gaza as “no longer comprehensible” and no longer supported by the need to combat Hamas.

In a nation whose government adheres to a policy of special responsibility for Israel, known as the Staatsraeson, because of the history of the Nazi Holocaust, the change in tone is noteworthy even though it is not altogether drastic.

It also shows a more general change in the public’s perception of Germany.

“Our committed fight against anti-Semitism and our full support for the right to exist and the security of the state of Israel must not be instrumentalised for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,” Wadephul added.

He remarked, “We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,” without providing any other information.

“Where we see dangers of harm, we will of course intervene and certainly not supply weapons so that there will be further harm,” he stated, adding that there were no fresh weapons orders being considered at the time.

Following demands from the Social Democrats, the junior coalition partner, to stop weaponry sales to Israel or face the possibility of what supporters of the motion claim would be German involvement in war crimes, the government changed its position.

INCREASING HUNGER

According to a U.N.-backed monitor, attacks on Gaza have slaughtered dozens in recent days, and the more than 2 million-person population is facing increasing malnutrition and thirst.

Although there has been little discernible movement in efforts to restore a brief ceasefire that ended in March, one regional diplomat stated that negotiations were still ongoing in Doha and that a settlement was still possible.

The German remarks stand out in especially because Merz won elections in February by vowing to visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Germany despite an ICC arrest order.

“The massive military strikes by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip no longer reveal any logic to me – how they serve the goal of confronting terror,” Merz stated in the Finnish city of Turku.

When asked if Germany sends weapons to Israel, he did not respond. Wadephul said that the issue of arms supply belonged to a secret security committee led by Merz.

Germany’s next move might involve stopping arms shipments, but the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment.

Netanyahu is scheduled to hear with the chancellor this week.

Merz used to have a picture of Zikim Beach, where Hamas fighters entered on boats during their 2023 rampage that killed around 1,200 people, hanging in his parliamentary office.

On Tuesday, Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Berlin, acknowledged German worries but offered no promises.

Because Friedrich Merz is a friend, we pay close attention when he criticizes Israel, Prosor told the ZDF broadcaster.

A wave of criticism of Israel’s actions has been accompanied by Merz’s remarks. According to Civey’s survey, which was released this week in the Tagesspiegel, 51% of Germans are against the shipment of arms to Israel.

According to a May Bertelsmann Foundation survey, the percentage of Germans who have a positive opinion of Israel has dropped from 46% in the previous survey conducted in 2021 to just 36%.

Compared to 64% of Israelis, only 25% of Germans acknowledge a special duty to the state of Israel, according to the report.