• German Foreign Minister urges Israel to “reconsider its approach” in order to “minimise civilian casualties”.
• Europe seems to be divided on Israels response with criticisms coming from Spain and Belgium, strong support from the UK and slight hesitation from Germany.
In a notable shift of tone, German Foreign Minister (Annalena Baerbock) urged Israel to reconsider its military strategy to mitigate the impact on Palestinian civilians. The statement, made on 11th December, reflects a nuanced stance from Berlin, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel.
While Germany has historically defended Israel’s right to “self-defence”, Israel’s disproportionate response and its disregard for Palestinian lives have prompted a more critical approach. Since October 7th, Germany has underscored its commitment to standing by Israel. Putting the obvious reasons why they are allies aside, the allyship between Germany and Israel is different than that of any other country. Germany’s unique relationship with Israel is almost certainly rooted in Germany’s historical responsibility for the Holocaust.
However, the German government, including from prominent Jewish residents, has faced accusations of allowing guilt to influence its response to Israel’s retaliatory actions, resulting in giving Israel a free hand in essentially committing genocide in Gaza. It is as if Israel is holding Germany hostage with guilt. Furthermore, this guilt tripping or Israel’s insistence of playing the victim goes beyond Germany and beyond Europe and the USA, Israel expects the world to turn a blind eye to the crimes it commits while using the Holocaust as a justification.
German officials have increasingly emphasized the importance of Israel adhering to international law in responding to October 7th, marking a departure from avoiding outright criticism of Israeli actions in Palestinian. This highlights the scale of Israels’ crimes as Germany isn’t the first western European country to criticise Israel on its response to October 7th , we have seen strong criticism from Spain, Belgium and, French president, Emmanual Macron who said at the Cop28 climate conference, “There is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security comes at the cost of Palestinian lives and therefore the resentment of all public opinion in the region.”.
Foreign Minister Baerbock, known for her outspoken views, asserted, “We expect Israel to reconsider its approach, ensuring more targeted military actions to minimize civilian casualties and facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, particularly in the north.” She made these remarks during a news conference in Dubai.
The situation in Gaza is deteriorating, with most of its 2.3 million residents displaced from their homes and now around 17,000 – 18,000 lives have been taken. These statistics are, rightly so, raising strong concerns of the humanitarian impactof Israels “response”.
While German Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) recently showed solidarity by lighting the first candle on Berlin’s giant menorah for Hanukkah and has been less vocal in criticism, he has also joined the calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Scholz also denounced the violence perpetrated by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, showing these concerns in a recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
