The German government’s double standards in Gaza
There will only be peace for Israel when there is hope for the Palestinians.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has described the situation in the Gaza Strip as “inhumane”. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke of a “humanitarian catastrophe with an announcement”. And French President Macron called for “compliance with international law”.
Clear words to the Israeli government after over one hundred people waiting for food had just died in Gaza – presumably also from bullets fired by the Israeli army.
In the EU, but also in Washington, patience with the Gaza policy of the partly far-right Israeli government seems to have come to an end.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague had previously called on Israel, the occupying power, to “immediately improve” the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Half of all buildings in northern Gaza have already been destroyed. Thousands of women, men and children have been killed. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing to the south, but Israel is also attacking there.
Israel’s government naturally has the right and the duty to protect its citizens from terrorists. But in Germany in particular, more and more people are asking themselves whether these current military means are still appropriate. Israel’s friends in particular are also asking about proportionality, which is also required by international law. Surveys show that the majority of Germans reject the brutality of the Israeli operation.
Foreign Minister Baerbock is calling for an investigation into the tragedy of the aid distribution – but why doesn’t Germany stop supplying arms to Israel until this investigation is complete? After all, Berlin has also stopped all payments to the UN’s Palestinian aid organization until its alleged cooperation with Hamas has been clarified. Why is Germany applying double standards, asks the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Four weeks ago, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to allow more aid convoys into the Gaza Strip. But the opposite has happened. Fewer aid deliveries arrived in February than in January. Without consequences for Israel. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people are now threatened with starvation. Diseases and epidemics are spreading.
German politicians like to talk about human rights and demand them everywhere in the world: From China to Russia to Cuba. But the current situation in Gaza shows that not everyone has the same rights for the German government. The US government has now ordered aid packages to be dropped over Gaza. US President Biden has just announced that a sea bridge will be built over a newly constructed port, in which the EU and Germany will also participate. However, the realization of this Gaza aid could still take months.
A diplomatic embarrassment for the Israeli government. This was only a drop in the ocean. Only around six tons of aid will reach those affected with one aid drop, compared to around 200 tons via an aid convoy. However, the helpless airdrop by the USA is still more than the silence and arms deliveries by the German government.
It is good and right that a German government is helping Israel to protect itself against terrorists. This solidarity applies to Israel, but not to the partly right-wing extremist Netanyahu government.
Israel is a democracy and is not committing genocide as its anti-Semitic opponents have accused it of after October 7. But Israel’s head of government has led his country blindly into the Hamas trap. Hamas hoped that Israel would strike back so brutally after the massacre and because of the massacre that it would even lose its most important supporters such as the USA and Germany. There is now much to suggest that this Hamas calculation will work out.
Netanyahu – politically caught between Hamas and his far-right religious fundamentalist ministers – has only one strategy: bomb and shoot endlessly and let his own people bleed to death as shields. Five months after the terrorist attack, over 30,000 Palestinians are said to be dead. But the conflict is becoming more brutal every day: for the Palestinians, but also for the Israeli hostages.
Peace is fundamentally different
The goal of all religions is the search for peace. So sneak instead of slaughter.
Who takes the first step towards the other? The three Abrahamic religions could play a central role in this. The goal of all religions is the search for peace. So mediate instead of slaughter. Please, you religious leaders: finally get active.
The ancient land and beautiful Palestine with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian culture and tradition is enough for two states that could also flourish economically through peaceful cooperation within the framework of an honorable and lasting peace. History shows that peace is possible: for 1300 hundred years, the Jews lived together almost peacefully in the Islamic empire.
Source
Franz Alt 2024 | Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
