Tensions rising in Germany amid criticism of Israeli governmentOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nMerz was a staunch pro-Israeli voice in opposition but, hours after his swearing-in as chancellor last Tuesday, conceded that the Israeli approach in Gaza was a \u201csource of great concern\u201d. Israel had a right to defend itself, he added, but \u201cmust also remain a country that meets humanitarian obligations\u201d.<\/p>\n
Before a private meeting with Herzog, Merz said German-Israeli ties had, for 60 years, \u201cbeen a symbol of reconciliation and the unique responsibility of our country toward Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existence of Israel and its security are anchored in the essence of our existence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Preparing the ground for Merz\u2019s visit to Israel was a priority during the inaugural weekend visit of new German foreign minister Johann Wadephul.<\/p>\n
The 62-year-old said Berlin was \u201copen\u201d to US-backed proposals for a new humanitarian organisation to bring aid to Gaza. Apart from that, though, there was much continuity in his remarks. He warned the current conflict could not be \u201cresolved permanently by military means\u201d and doubted \u201cwhether all of Israel\u2019s strategic goals can be achieved in this way\u201d.<\/p>\n
There was an echo of the previous German government, too, in his call for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages and warnings against expulsion of the two million Palestinians from Gaza or permanent Israeli occupation of Gaza.<\/p>\n
Despite that, clear pro-Israel sentiment remains strong among the ruling CDU Bundestag party. Its foreign policy expert J\u00fcrgen Hardt argued on Monday that Berlin and other capitals \u201cwould do well to listen to Israel and, behind closed doors, form its own opinion on this situation analysis\u201d.<\/p>\n
Amid the subdued 60th anniversary, a mutinous mood is growing in sections of the German media. The centre-left S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung led the way on Monday, arguing that the new Merz government found itself \u201cat a crossroads\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA credible commitment to international law and its institutions cannot be reconciled,\u201d it argued in an editorial, \u201cwith unconditional support of this government of Israel, which has right-wing extremists in its ranks who want to drive people out of their homeland\u201d.<\/p>\n
For some German Middle East analysts the most visible difference in Germany\u2019s approach to Israel isn\u2019t between the old and new administrations \u2013 but between the CDU in opposition and in office.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the siege of Gaza reaches new levels, Merz is now in power and responsible for everything,\u201d said Dr Peter Lintl of Berlin\u2019s SWP think tank. \u201cIt\u2019s particularly difficult for Steinmeier: to express thanks for the reconciliation of the last 60 years then address the hard approach of Israel in Gaza \u2013 how to balance that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he left Berlin for Jerusalem, a visibly uncomfortable Steinmeier addressed the elephant in the corner of the German-Israeli relationship as it turns 60: an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu last year for alleged war crimes.<\/p>\n
As opposition leader, Merz said he would, once in power, extend an invitation to the Israeli prime minister. After a week in office, the Merz invitation has dropped out of sight and Steinmeier said he hoped it stayed that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assume and hope that both sides are smart enough,\u201d he said, \u201cto ensure that a decision never has to be taken on whether to enforce an international arrest warrant against an Israeli prime minister in Germany.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations six decades ago, protesters gathered outside the ceremony in Jerusalem waving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,1945,1824,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-96302","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-friedrich-merz","11":"tag-germany","12":"tag-israel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114496926152264458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96302","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=96302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}