Germany's Merz faces pressure to toughen stance on Israel

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN, July 23 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to take a firmer stance on Israel, with members of his own coalition calling for Berlin to join a statement by dozens of Western nations condemning the "inhumane killing" of Palestinians.

Merz, who leads Germany's centre-right CDU, has been increasingly critical of Israel. But Germany was notably absent from the joint statement issued on Monday by the EU Crisis Management Commissioner and 28 Western countries, including Britain and France, that called on Israel to immediately end the war.

The countries condemned what they called the "drip feeding of aid" to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was "horrifying" that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking aid.

Reem Alabali Radovan, international development minister in Merz's cabinet and a member of the centre-left SPD junior coalition partners, said on Tuesday she was unhappy with Germany's decision not to sign it.

"The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners," she said.

Merz said late on Tuesday that the European Council had already issued a joint declaration that was "practically identical in content to what is expressed in the letter".

The council's June statement did deplore the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza but was not as emotionally charged and bluntly critical of Israel - nor did it condemn the Israeli scheme to move Palestinians to a so-called "humanitarian city" announced earlier this month.

"I was one of the first to say very clearly — even in Germany — that the situation there is no longer acceptable," Merz said, denying any divisions within his coalition on this issue.

On Monday, he said he spoke on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him "very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government’s policy on Gaza".

But the decision to withhold Germany's signature from the declaration follows many months in which Germany has taken particular care in public to restrain its criticism of Israeli actions.

German officials say their approach to Israel is governed by a special responsibility, known as the Staatsraison, arising from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust. They believe they can achieve more through diplomatic back channels than public statements.

Merz is one of the few European leaders who has publicly offered to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without arresting him on a warrant for suspected war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Israel rejects the charges against Netanyahu and says they are politically motivated. The ICC says all signatories of the court's founding statute, which include all 27 EU members, are obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he enters their territory.

Critics of Merz's approach, including within the SPD coalition partners, say the legacy of the Holocaust cannot be an excuse for ignoring Israeli crimes, and, on the contrary, the post-Holocaust motto of "never again" should apply to Gaza now.

“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss," said a joint statement by two senior SPD lawmakers - foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich - who called for Berlin to join the joint declaration.

There should be "clear and immediate consequences" for Israel, including the suspension of a pact governing EU-Israeli relations and a halt to the export of weapons to Israel that are used in violation of international law, they said.