Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘incomprehensible' Gaza massacre
The message, delivered from a press conference in Finland, reflects a broader shift in public opinion but also a greater willingness from top-ranking German politicians to criticize Israel's conduct since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
There was similar criticism from Merz's foreign minister Johann Wadephul and calls among his junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, to halt arms exports to Israel or else risk German complicity in war crimes.
While not a complete rupture, the shift in tone is significant in a country whose leadership follows a policy of special responsibility for Israel, known as the Staatsraeson, due to the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust.
Germany, along with the United States, has been one of Israel's staunchest supporters, but Merz's words come as the European Union is reviewing its Israel policy and Britain, France and Canada also threatened 'concrete actions' over Gaza.
'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. ... In this respect, I view this very, very critically,' Merz said in Turku, Finland.
'I am also not among those who said it first ... But it seemed and seems to me that the time has come when I must say publicly, (that) what is currently happening is no longer comprehensible.'
The comments are particularly striking given that Merz won elections in February promising to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on German soil in defiance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Merz also has hanging in the chancellery a picture of Zikim beach, where Hamas fighters arrived on boats during their rampage in 2023 that killed around 1,200 people.
The Chancellor plans to speak to Netanyahu this week, as attacks on Gaza killed dozens in recent days and its population of 2 million is at risk of famine. He did not reply to a question about German weapons exports to Israel, and a government official told a briefing that this was a matter for a security council presided over by Merz.
Israel's ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, acknowledged German concerns on Tuesday but made no commitments.
'When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend,' Prosor told the ZDF broadcaster.
Pressure from below?
Merz's comments come on top of a groundswell of opposition to Israel's actions. A survey by Civey, published in the Tagesspiegel newspaper this week, showed 51 percent of Germans opposed weapons exports to Israel.
More broadly, while 60 percent of Israelis have a positive or very positive opinion of Germany, only 36 percent of people in Germany view Israel positively, and 38 percent view it negatively, a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation found in May.
This represents a notable change from the last survey in 2021, when 46 percent of Germans had a positive opinion of Israel. Only a quarter of Germans recognize a special responsibility towards the state of Israel, while 64 percent of Israelis believe Germany has a special obligation.
In another striking rebuke of Israel, Germany's commissioner for antisemitism Felix Klein this week called for a discussion about Berlin's stance on Israel, saying German support after the Holocaust could not justify everything Israel was doing.
Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann said popular opinion in Germany towards Israel has reacted the same way as in other countries.
'The difference is in the political elites - the political elite is still under the influence of the lessons of WWII in a very one-dimensional way: 'Jews were our victims during WWII, so we have to take sides with the Jews wherever they are and whatever they do,'' he said.
'You can feel it in the reaction of the new foreign minister, Wadephul, and indirectly the fact that Merz didn't repeat his promise to invite Netanyahu. This is an unprecedented situation where the pressure from below is forcing the political class to reconsider.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
7 minutes ago
- Arab News
Jordan delivers nearly 57 tons of aid to Gaza in latest round of airdrops
AMMAN: The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) carried out seven airdrop operations over Gaza on Friday, delivering close to 57 tons of humanitarian aid, including food supplies, relief items, and baby formula, the Jordan News Agency reported. The mission, conducted in cooperation with multiple international partners, brings the total amount of aid delivered via airdrop since operations resumed last week to 148 tonnes. Aircraft from the Royal Jordanian Air Force led the effort alongside planes from the UAE, Germany, France, and Spain. In total, the latest operation involved two Jordanian aircraft, one Emirati, two German, one French, and one Spanish. The JAF said the airdrops were conducted under Royal directives aimed at intensifying humanitarian relief to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive. They are part of broader Jordanian efforts to deliver urgent assistance to civilians in the besieged Strip. In a statement, the JAF reaffirmed its commitment to its humanitarian mission 'whether through airdrops or land convoys.' Since the start of the war, Jordan has carried out 133 airdrop missions independently and participated in an additional 276 joint operations with allied nations.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Israel intercepts Houthi missile fired from Yemen
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, which the Iran-backed Houthi militants said they had launched. 'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted,' the Israeli military said. The Houthis targeted Israel's Ben Gurion airport 'using a 'Palestine 2' hypersonic ballistic missile,' their military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement. The militants have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. The Houthis, who say they are acting in support of the Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza that ended in March, but renewed them after Israel resumed major operations. Israel has carried out several retaliatory strikes in Yemen, targeting Houthi-held ports and the airport in the militant-held capital Sanaa.`
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
A settler accused of killing a Palestinian activist is to be freed, as Israel still holds the body
TEL AVIV: An Israeli settler accused of killing a prominent Palestinian activist during a confrontation captured on video in the occupied West Bank will be released from house arrest, an Israeli court ruled Friday. The video shot by a Palestinian witness shows Yinon Levi brandishing a pistol and tussling with a group of unarmed Palestinians. He can be seen firing two shots, but the video does not show where the bullets hit. Witnesses said one of the shots killed Awdah Hathaleen, an English teacher and father of three, who was uninvolved and was standing nearby. The Israeli military is still holding Hathaleen's body and says it will only be returned if the family agrees to bury him in a nearby city. It said the measure was being taken to 'prevent public disorder.' The confrontation occurred on Monday in the village of Umm Al-Khair, in an area of the West Bank featured in 'No Other Land,' an Oscar-winning documentary about settler violence and life under Israeli military rule. In a court decision obtained by The Associated Press, Judge Havi Toker wrote that there was 'no dispute' that Levi shot his gun in the village that day, but she said he may have been acting in self-defense and that the court could not establish that the shots killed Hathaleen. Israel's military and police did not respond to a request for comment on whether anyone else may have fired shots that day. Multiple calls placed to Levi and his lawyer have not been answered. The judge said Levi did not pose such a danger as to justify his continued house arrest but barred him from contact with the villagers for a month. Levi has been sanctioned by the United States and other Western countries over allegations of past violence toward Palestinians. President Donald Trump lifted the US sanctions on Levi and other radical settlers shortly after returning to office. A total of 18 Palestinians from the village were arrested after the incident. Six remain in detention. Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer who has lobbied for sanctions against radical settlers, including Levi, said the court ruling did not come as a surprise. 'Automatically, Palestinian victims are considered suspects, while Jewish suspects are considered victims,' he said. Levi helped establish an settler outpost near Umm Al-Khair that anti-settlement activists say is a bastion for violent settlers who have displaced hundreds since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to settler violence, which has surged since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, along with attacks by Palestinians. In a 2024 interview, Levi said he was protecting his own land and denied using violence. Some 70 women in Umm Al-Khair said they were beginning a hunger strike on Friday to call for Hathaleen's body to be returned and for the right of his family to bury him in the village. Israel's military said in a statement to the AP that it would return the body if the family agrees to bury him in the 'nearest authorized cemetery.' Hathaleen, 31, had written and spoke out against settler violence, and had helped produce the Oscar-winning film. Supporters have erected murals in his honor in Rome, held vigils in New York and have held signs bearing his name at anti-war protests in Tel Aviv.
