The German government is under fire for not joining a joint declaration by 25 states calling for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. According to a report in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" on Tuesday, members of the Bundestag Rolf Mützenich and Adis Ahmetovic, members of the governing SPD party, called on Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) to join the initiative. BSW head Sahra Wagenknecht also called for this, considering Germany diplomatically "isolated."
On Monday, 25 countries, including Great Britain, France, and Italy, issued a joint statement calling for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. The suffering of the civilian population in the Palestinian territory has "reached a new level," the joint statement said. The 25 countries called on Israel to "comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law" and to "immediately" lift restrictions on aid deliveries. Germany is not among the signatories.
This is now met with strong criticism. It is time "for the federal government to join the initiatives at the European level," the Süddeutsche Zeitung quotes from a letter from Ahmetovic and Mützenich. The letter is reportedly "supported by the SPD parliamentary group." Ahmetovic is the SPD parliamentary group's foreign policy spokesperson, and Mützenich, the former parliamentary group leader, sits on the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee.
BSW head Wagenknecht calls Germany's reticence on the issue "a declaration of foreign policy bankruptcy." If France, Poland, and other EU states are involved, the German government has "isolated itself further in Europe in terms of foreign policy," Wagenknecht told the AFP news agency. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Foreign Minister Wadephul "are doing far too little to influence the Israeli government," Wagenknecht continued. She also called for an end to German arms deliveries to Israel.
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