BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany will decide whether or not to approve new weapons shipments to Israel based on an assessment of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in an interview published on Friday.
Wadephul questioned whether Israel’s actions in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza were in line with international law.
“We are examining this and, if necessary, we will authorise further arms deliveries based on this examination,” he said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
The comments build on a shifting tone from Berlin and mounting international criticism of Israel in recent days as the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza after an Israeli aid blockade and mounting civilian deaths test German support.
Wadephul said it was important that Israel can defend itself given the threats it faces, including from Houthi militants, Hezbollah and Iran.
“For me, there is no question that we have a special responsibility to stand by Israel’s side,” he said, reiterating the principle of “Staatsraeson” which underpins German support for Israel in atonement for the Holocaust of World War Two.
“On the other hand, of course, this does not mean that a government can do whatever it wants,” he said.
Three months into the war, South Africa filed a case to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the accusations as outrageous.
Israel’s aid blockade of Gaza, which began after the breakdown of a ceasefire in early March, has also been contested at the World Court. Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation, a global hunger monitor said in mid-May.
Netanyahu has dismissed charges that Israel was deliberately causing starvation in Gaza by imposing the 11-week blockade that was relaxed last week after mounting pressure from close allies.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said airstrikes on Gaza were no longer justified by the need to fight Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 assault on Israel killed some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and triggered the war.
More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground campaign, according to Gaza health authorities.
(Writing by Rachel More; editing by Matthias Williams and Ros Russell)
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