By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to take a firmer stance towards Israel, with members of his own coalition calling for Berlin to join a statement by dozens of Western nations condemning the “inhumane killing” of Palestinians.
Merz, who leads Germany’s centre-right CDU, has been increasingly critical of Israel. But Germany was notably absent from the joint statement issued on Monday by the EU and 28 Western countries including Britain and France, which called on Israel to immediately end the war.
The countries condemned what they called the “drip feeding of aid” to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was “horrifying” that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking aid.
Reem Alabali Radovan, international development minister in Merz’s cabinet and a member of the centre-left SPD junior coalition partners, said on Tuesday she was unhappy with Germany’s decision not to sign it.
“The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners,” she said.
Merz’s office says Germany’s criticism of Israel is similar to that of other allies. Merz said on Tuesday he had told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government’s policy on Gaza”.
“Above all we see the great suffering of the civilian population there. That is why I would like to once again renew my call to truly provide the necessary humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. The way the Israeli army is operating there is not acceptable,” he said.
Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that although Germany did not sign the joint declaration, Merz and his foreign minister “expressed very critical views of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip yesterday – and in terms of substance and significance, said the same thing.”
“Their statements are in no way inferior to the joint declaration,” Kornelius said.
But the decision to withhold Germany’s signature from the declaration follows many months in which Germany has taken particular care in public to restrain its criticism of Israeli actions.
German officials say their approach to Israel is governed by a special responsibility, known as the Staatsraeson, arising from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust. They believe they can achieve more through diplomatic back channels than public statements.
German statements on Gaza typically include a demand for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas. The joint statement that Merz declined to sign to this week stopped short of such a demand, although it noted that the hostages were suffering under worsening conditions.
Merz is one of the few European leaders who has publicly offered to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without arresting him on a warrant for suspected war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
Israel rejects the charges against Netanyahu and says they are political motivated. The ICC says all signatories of the court’s founding statute, which include all 27 EU members, are obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he enters their territory.
Critics of Merz’s approach, including within the SPD coalition partners, say the legacy of the Holocaust cannot be an excuse for ignoring Israeli crimes, and, on the contrary, the post-Holocaust motto of “never again” should apply to Gaza now.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss,” said a joint statement by two senior SPD lawmakers – foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich – who called for Berlin to join the joint declaration.
There should be “clear and immediate consequences” for Israel, including the suspension of a pact governing EU-Israeli relations and a halt to the export of weapons to Israel that are used in violation of international law, they said.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Andreas RinkeAdditional Reporting by Alexander RatzEditing by Peter Graff)
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