{"id":134170,"date":"2025-05-26T20:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T20:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/134170\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T20:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T20:53:10","slug":"germany-israels-actions-in-gaza-no-longer-justified-as-fight-against-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/134170\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany: Israel\u2019s Actions in Gaza &#8216;No Longer Justified as Fight against Terrorism&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Merz_Germany_wiki.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"Merz_Germany_wiki\"\/><br \/>\nFriedrich Merz, leader of Germany&#8217;s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). (Photo: Steffen Pr\u00f6\u00dfdorf, via Wikimedia)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nThe chancellor also criticized the Israeli army\u2019s latest bombing of a school in Gaza, which killed at least 31 people and wounded many more.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sharply criticized Israel on Monday, saying the recent strikes on Gaza \u201ccan no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat the Israeli army is doing now in the Gaza Strip, harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism,\u201d Merz said at the WDR European Forum in Berlin, the Anadolu news agency reported.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Israel\u2019s current level of attacks on Gaza \u201ccan no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7BzSU0pnUM\">pic.twitter.com\/7BzSU0pnUM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DW Politics (@dw_politics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dw_politics\/status\/1926982143298707523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The conservative leader acknowledged that Germany has been reluctant so far to publicly criticize Israel due to its historical responsibility. However, he emphasized that he can no longer understand any military objectives in Israel\u2019s current actions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen boundaries are crossed, where international humanitarian law is truly violated, Germany and the German chancellor must also say something about it,\u201d Merz said, adding that he will raise the concerns when he speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.<\/p>\n<p>Bombing of School Slammed<\/p>\n<p>The chancellor also criticized the Israeli army\u2019s latest bombing of a school in Gaza, which killed at least 31 people and wounded many more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have to say that what happened this weekend\u2014when another kindergarten in the Gaza Strip was hit\u2014is a human tragedy and a political catastrophe,\u201d Merz said, adding that the German government was in contact with Israeli officials to raise concerns about the military offensive.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"B2DlKwTAE3\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.palestinechronicle.com\/children-civlians-burned-alive-as-israeli-warplanes-target-school-home-in-gaza\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Children, Civlians Burned Alive as Israeli Warplanes Target School, Home in Gaza<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>German FM Renews Aid Call<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul renewed his call for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to Gaza, emphasizing that while Tel Aviv recently permitted limited aid, it remains far from sufficient, Anadolu reported.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe humanitarian situation is unbearable and must be improved quickly,\u201d he said during his visit to Madrid, adding that he conveyed this message to his Israeli counterpart during their recent weekend phone call.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"de\">Die Lage in Gaza ist nicht hinnehmbar. Israel hat das Recht, sich zu verteidigen \u2013 aber die humanit\u00e4re Hilfe in Gaza muss ganz dringend verbessert werden. Daf\u00fcr braucht es jetzt einen Waffenstillstand \u2013 und klare Schritte hin zur Zwei-Staaten-L\u00f6sung.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Johann Wadephul (@AussenMinDE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AussenMinDE\/status\/1927019958501875971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In early March, Israel imposed a complete blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza. A limited number of trucks were allowed in last week, but the UN and Gaza authorities have warned that it is not enough.<\/p>\n<p>Reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire, Wadephul said ending the fighting and freeing the captives could pave the way for diplomatic talks and a constructive path to a two-state solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGermany\u2019s position is clear: there can only be a two-state solution. There must be no expulsion from the Gaza Strip. There must also be no policy of starvation,\u201d he stressed, adding that the Gaza Strip should belong to Palestinians as part of a two-state settlement.<\/p>\n<p>Staggering Death Toll<\/p>\n<p>Since Israel\u2019s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.<\/p>\n<p>On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 53,000, wounding more than 122,000, with over 14,000 still missing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The first public session of the Gaza Tribunal, a civil society initiative serving as a \u201ccourt of humanity and conscience\u201d, will begin in Sarajevo on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis landmark event represents a crucial step in the Tribunal\u2019s mission to document alleged war crimes, address\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bdzVYtFEYU\">pic.twitter.com\/bdzVYtFEYU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PalestineChron\/status\/1927011062001348910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals \u2014 including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu \u2014 are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.<\/p>\n<p>(Anadolu, PC)<\/p>\n<p>\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany&#8217;s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). (Photo: Steffen Pr\u00f6\u00dfdorf, via Wikimedia) The chancellor also criticized&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,25792,1824,25793,25795,2193],"class_list":{"0":"post-134170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-gaza-genocide","11":"tag-germany","12":"tag-international-law","13":"tag-israeli-war-crimes","14":"tag-netanyahu"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114576123929307752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}