German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday openly and directly criticized Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip for the first time.
“Endangering the civilian population to such an extent, as is increasingly the case in recent days, can no longer be justified by the fight against Hamas,” said the German chancellor and added, commenting on the case of the death of children in a school, that “he no longer understands the purpose with which the Israeli army is currently operating in the Gaza Strip.”
Mertz warned Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that Israel’s friends cannot tolerate anything Jerusalem does.
“The Israeli government should not do something that even Israel’s greatest friends cannot tolerate at one point,” Merz (Christian Democratic Union CDU) said at a public service discussion in Berlin.
The German chancellor said that Germany, “more than any other country in the world”, should refrain from criticizing Israel.
“Germany, like no other country, must refrain from open criticism of Israel…But when certain borders are crossed, when international law is violated, then the German chancellor must speak up,” said Merz.
The German chancellor has announced that he will speak with the Israeli prime minister this week and warn him not to “exaggerate” his actions against Gaza.
Dozens of people were killed or wounded after last night’s Israeli attack on a school housing displaced people in Gaza, and humanitarian aid is arriving at a slow pace for the Gaza population after an 11-week Israeli blockade.
