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Is Germany hypocritical for arming Israel while calling for Gaza civilian protection?
Israeli tanks manoeuvre near the northern Gaza Strip border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Germany is defending itself in front of the International Court of Justice against claims that it’s military aids to Israel are furthering a Genocide in Gaza, charges brought against Berlin by Nicaragua. And pressure is also mounting inside the country: Around 600 civil servants in Germany have urged Chancellor Schulz, in an open letter, to stop sending weapons to Israel.
In March the German government, a close ally to Israel, declared that while fighting Hamas is a legitimate goal, this cannot justify the high number of Palestinian civilians killed since October 2023. Is Berlin working with double standards? Is there a way to support Israel and protect the Palestinian society?
The facts
Germany and the US are among the most important suppliers of weapons and other military aid to Israel. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIRPI), Germany has contributed to 30 percent of the Israeli arms imports from 2019 until 2023. 69 percent are supplied by the United States.
Israel’s security is seen as a matter of historical responsibility in Germany considering the murder of 6 million Jews by Nazi-Germany in WWII. Berlin has been promoting the two-state solution, aiming for a recognition of the State of Israel and a peace agreement with the Arab world. Israel strongly rejects this, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ruling out the existence of a Palestinian state.
The arguments
The government in Berlin has dismissed Nicaragua’s accusation of aiding genocide in Gaza as baseless. Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, leading the German delegation at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, said on Tuesday, “These accusations lack legal or factual merit.” Germany maintains it isn’t in violation of the Genocide Convention or international humanitarian law.
Germany says that weapons of war only make for a small part of the overall military aid delivered to Israel. According to numbers published by the coalition government it approved arms exports worth 326.5 million euros to Israel in 2023 – ten times more than the previous year. , According to Berlin components for air defence systems and communications equipment accounted for most of the exports, only 20.1 million euros concerned weapons such as portable anti-tank weapons, ammunition, detonators and propelling charges.
Germany has called the humanitarian situation in Gaza catastrophic, insisting Israel let humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip. However, so far there have not been any signs that the pressure Berlin, Washington, and other countries are putting on Israel to ensure better protection for civilians has made a change in the Gaza war.
In February funding to the UN Relief and works agency for Palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA) has stopped, following reports earlier this year that employees of UNRWA had links to Hamas. Germany says while allegations are being investigated, there will be no new financing of the UN body.
Berlin, however, said it is significantly increasing its humanitarian aid and development cooperation for the Palestinian territories, including providing relief supplies through special flights and sea deliveries, conducting airdrops of food, and supporting Jordan with financing for aid flights to the Gaza Strip. According to foreign minister Annalena Baerbock the extra humanitarian help amounts to an additional 20 million.
