German Foreign Minister visiting Israel as EU pressure grows over Gaza

Johann Wadephul will urge Israelis to allow more aid into enclave, amid moves to suspend country from EU-funded research

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said his country 'cannot and must not ignore' the plight of Palestinians. AFP

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is due to arrive in Israel on Thursday evening on a high-stakes trip to try to convince Israeli counterparts to allow more aid into Gaza.

The foreign minister signalled Germany may be reconsidering its position on Israel and Gaza, as the UN reports spreading famine in the Strip.

Israel is increasingly finding itself in a “minority position”, Mr Wadephul warned in a statement issued before his visit.

A number of western countries, including France, Canada and the UK, have indicated they are ready to recognise a Palestinian state.

During almost 22 months of war, in which more than 60,000 Palestinian people have been killed, Berlin's firm support of Israel has blocked co-ordinated EU action against its ally.

We are witnessing one of the worst scandals from a humanitarian perspective

Teresa Ribera,
executive vice president of the European Commission

Germany is unlikely to follow suit any time soon, but Mr Wadephul warned that Israel must support peace negotiations that will enable a two-state solution.

“Such a process must begin now,” Mr Wadephul added. “Germany will not deviate from this goal. Germany will also be forced to respond to unilateral steps.”

The Foreign Minister did not clarify what he meant by “unilateral steps” but Chancellor Friedrich Merz signalled earlier this week that he would carefully watch the outcome of Mr Wadephul's visit.

German reserve

In a significant policy shift, Mr Merz said he reserved the right to support a proposal by the European Commission – the bloc's executive arm – to punish Israel after it found that it had breached a human rights clause embedded in EU-Israel relations.

The proposal would block Israeli start-ups with dual-use programmes − those with both civilian and military applications − from receiving EU funds. It needs a qualified majority vote to be adopted. France and Italy have also not yet clarified their position. So far, only four states – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria − have expressed opposition, which is not enough to block its adoption.

Palestinians collect aid in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Reuters

While largely symbolic, the move would represent an unprecedented step for western governments in expressing dissatisfaction with Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The commission has never suspended a country's participation in the Horizon Europe programme, according to an EU official.

In Israel, Mr Wadephul is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and President Isaac Herzog. He will also travel to the occupied West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In his statement, Mr Wadephul recognised that the Middle East peace process was “at a crossroads” and called for an “immediate, comprehensive, and sustained relief for the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip”.

“Germany, with our special responsibility for Israel, cannot and must not ignore this,” he added.

Germany views its strong support for Israel as a “reason of state” because of its role in the near-extermination of Europe's Jews in the Second World War, which accelerated the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Frustration grows

Israeli cabinet members are openly speaking about occupying Gaza and expelling its population. They have also threatened to annex the occupied West Bank, which would in effect rob Palestinians of the land on which they could establish a state.

The EU's current stance has created frustration in Brussels, as the situation continues to deteriorate in Gaza. On Thursday, more than 30 people were killed by the Israeli military during the distribution of aid by the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund.

In a rare public rebuke, European Commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera accused the EU's executive body of failing to act. “We are witnessing one of the worst scandals from a humanitarian perspective,” Ms Ribera told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

Her country, Spain, has been the most vocal in criticising Israel and has called for a full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement – an unlikely possibility because it needs unanimous support among the bloc's 27 member states.

An increasing number of EU countries want to go further than the EU Commission's proposal to partially suspend Israel from Horizon Europe. They have also called for suspending trade preferences with Israel.

The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner. The relationship, however, is not reciprocal, as Israel ranks only 31st among the EU's export markets.

“The situation in Gaza is absolutely appalling, and Israel is failing to fulfil its most basic obligations and agreements on emergency aid,” Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post to X.

“Sweden therefore demands that the EU freeze the trade section of the association agreement as soon as possible,” Mr Kristersson added.

Human rights groups have lambasted the EU's inability to take concrete steps towards Israel in nearly two years.

“Every day the EU fails to suspend the Association Agreement, it effectively greenlights Israel’s ongoing genocide,” said Hussein Baoumi, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Merz’s appalling decision to block even the smallest step forward under the guise of maintaining dialogue should compel other EU leaders to act unilaterally to uphold their own obligations under international law,” Mr Baoumi told The National.

Israel launched strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza after Hamas led attacks on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,400 people were killed and 240 abducted.

Executive vice president of the European Commission Teresa Ribera has criticised it for failing to act on Gaza. EPA