In view of the many victims on the Palestinian side, Israel is coming under increasing criticism as it advances in the Gaza Strip. US President Biden threatened consequences. A reaction is also being debated in Germany.
It’s about Rafah, a city in the very south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army advances there to free hostages and destroy Hamas. But Rafah is also a place where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians seek protection. US President Joe Biden threatened that a major Israeli attack would have consequences. If Israel attacks Rafah, his country will not provide the weapons, Biden said.
Pistorius: Slow down
The German Defense Minister can understand this threat. Boris Pistorius, who is currently on a trip to the USA, advises on ZDF not to “rely on de-escalation, slow down” and expresses concern: “What is happening now is not good for the region and especially not for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip.”
After the USA, Germany is one of the most important arms suppliers to Israel. So should the federal government follow the US and also threaten to supply fewer weapons? Pistorius said he couldn’t answer that question yet.
Increase pressure on Arab states
For foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner from the SPD, the US President’s statement could also be a role model for Germany. Stegner told Spiegel: no arms deliveries for military operations without consideration for the civilian population
Johann Wadephul, the Union’s foreign and defense policy expert, said the US was and would remain the backbone of Israel’s security. However, President Biden is under pressure domestically. However, the current situation in the region was caused by Hamas.
Hamas is playing an inhumane game with time and with the hostages, Wadephul continued. That’s why the USA and the German federal government must put more pressure on the Arab states that have access to Hamas: “It must be made clear to everyone in the region that we need a solution to the hostage problem, otherwise Israel will ultimately have no choice but to military action.”
Lawsuit against Germany
The issue of German arms exports to Israel was currently on the minds of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Nicaragua had sued the Federal Republic: The accusation was: complicity in genocide. The urgent application was rejected.
The federal government argued in court that arms exports would be subject to strict scrutiny. 98 percent of the exports approved since the Hamas attack on Israel are not weapons of war. The Green Party defense politician Sara Nanni also refers to this argument: “In view of the high number of civilian casualties, the federal government has long since adjusted its approval figures for war weapons to Israel. So in that sense we are further along than the USA when it comes to to put appropriate pressure on the Netanyahu government.”
information Arms export report
In principle, the federal government does not say who exactly delivers what. According to the arms export report, most recently it was bazookas, ammunition as well as propellant charges and detonators for weapons. Components for air defense, communications equipment, military trucks and safety glass are also said to have been included.
Gabor Halasz, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, May 10, 2024 3:53 p.m