The German government expects Israel to adapt its military strategy to prevent suffering among Palestinian residents, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday, marking a slight shift in Berlin toward a more critical stance toward its ally.
At the outbreak of war in the Middle East on 7 October, Berlin backs Israel’s right to defend its territory after the Hamas attack, stressing its duty to stand by the country in atonement for the Holocaust in XX century when 6 million Jews died.
Several prominent Jewish residents in Germany accused the government of allowing guilt to “blot out” its response to Israel’s retaliation, which has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
German politicians have increasingly emphasised the need for Israel to respect international law in response to Hamas attacks, but have largely avoided directly criticising its actions in the Palestinian territories.
This has changed dramatically over the past week, with the usually more outspoken Foreign Minister Baerbock taking the lead. The minister said at a news conference in Dubai on the sidelines of the United Nations climate summit:
“We expect Israel … to allow more humanitarian aid, especially in the north, to ensure its military actions are more targeted and cause fewer civilian casualties. The question of how Israel carries out this battle is central to the perspective of a political solution.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week lit the first candle on a giant menorah in Berlin to mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in solidarity with the Jewish people and was less outspoken in his criticism.
But the chancellor has increasingly called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and condemned Jewish settler violence in the West Bank, including in a telephone conversation Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last week, the foreign ministry said it welcomed US sanctions against some Israeli settlers over attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and urged the EU to consider similar sanctions.
Fighting continued on the ground in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by repeated aerial bombardments from Israel. Rockets have also been fired into Israel from Gaza, and from anti-Israeli forces in Lebanon. Some of the heaviest close-quarters fighting in more than two months of conflict took place over the weekend, as the Israel Defence Forces tried to consolidate control of urban centres in northern Gaza and pursued Hamas leaders in the heart of the biggest city in the south, Khan Younis.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge in the densely populated enclave. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry updated casualties since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October, stating that 18,205 Palestinians have been killed, and 49,645 injured. The reported death toll has risen by more than 500 in the two days from Saturday, when it stood at 17,700, the ministry said.
