The demands come as Israel continues a new large-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The operation aims to expand Israeli control over the territory.

The Israeli campaign was launched in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led cross-border attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people; another 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

The European Commission has urged Israel to “exercise the utmost restraint,” an EU spokesperson told a press briefing in early May. Meanwhile, Israel recently eased its nearly three-month blockade on humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Senior SPD lawmaker Ralf Stegner warned in the same magazine article that “the humanitarian catastrophe for the Palestinian civilian population and the violation of international law by the Netanyahu government must be stopped immediately — and must not be prolonged with German weapons.”

Germany had long upheld a policy of not exporting arms to active conflict zones. Israel was granted an exception on the grounds of national defense. “But that no longer applies to what’s currently happening in Gaza and the West Bank,” Stegner told Stern.

SPD parliamentarian Isabel Cademartori warned that Germany could become legally complicit in war crimes through its weapons deliveries. “This could lead to Germany itself being held accountable by international courts,” she told Stern. She called on the government to halt exports, specifically of tank ammunition and spare parts.

Merz’s spokesperson refused to comment on the demands from the SPD politicians during the government’s Monday press conference.

Germany approved €326.5 million in arms exports to Israel in 2023 — a sharp increase from previous years, according to Reuters. In 2024, however, export approvals halved as legal and political scrutiny mounted, both at home and abroad.

BERLIN (AP) — Friedrich Merz plunged straight into international crises on his first full day as Germany’s new chancellor Wednesday,…

BERLIN (AP) — Friedrich Merz plunged straight into international crises on his first full day as Germany’s new chancellor Wednesday, presenting a united front with France against U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, demanding more aid for Gaza and announcing he soon would visit Ukraine.

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron — firm believers in the European Union and leaders of the continent’s largest economies — used their first meeting since the German leader’s appointment Tuesday to show unity on Ukraine and other issues causing alarm in Europe. They vowed to strengthen the continent’s security and increase defense spending.

The tandem of Germany and France has long underpinned the 27-nation bloc, but lost some of its vigor in recent months as leaders in both countries wrestled with domestic issues.

In a joint news conference, Merz acknowledged that Europe still needs the U.S. for peace in Ukraine. “It is our firm conviction that we cannot end this war in Ukraine without further political and military engagement by the United States of America,” he said. “The Europeans cannot replace this at present.”

Both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been exerting pressure on the EU, forcing it to rethink its own security. It was not clear when Merz would visit Ukraine.

Macron said that France and Germany will “accelerate” defense cooperation, including jointly developing new defense technologies “necessary for the wars of tomorrow.” He listed working together on tanks, long-range missiles and combat aircraft. He also said that the countries would start regular meetings of a French-German defense council.

Merz also visited Poland on Wednesday and addressed his new government’s plans to station more police at Germany’s border to curb illegal migration and even turn away some asylum-seekers.

“If we, everybody together in the European Union, give the signal to those who are setting out for Europe without valid opportunities for entry, if we give this signal especially to the traffickers, that these routes are going to get a lot more difficult and that we are going to close them, then that is a joint and good signal,” Merz said during a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Demanding aid for Gaza

Merz and Macron also demanded that Israel allow humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. Israel cut off all aid to the territory over two months ago to try to pressure the Hamas militant group.

Israel is preparing to ramp up its campaign against Hamas in a devastating war now entering its 20th month. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

Merz urged Israel to be “more responsible” — striking comments given Germany’s past and present support for Israel.

Macron said that France couldn’t, on the one hand, defend Ukrainians’ sovereign and territorial rights while ignoring the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, saying: “We cannot have double standards.”

Both men sought stability between India and Pakistan, saying they view the latest exchange of fire “between these two nuclear powers with the utmost concern.”

India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory early Wednesday, killing at least 31 people in what Pakistan’s leader called an act of war. India said it struck infrastructure used by militants linked to last month’s massacre of tourists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

Merz’s historic defeat

The German leader’s trip to Paris came the day after his historic defeat in the first round of voting in the German parliament. No other postwar candidate for chancellor has failed to win on the first ballot. He won in the second.

Traditionally, newly elected chancellors make a point of visiting their big neighbors in the west and east on the first day in office to stress European unity.

Merz’s Paris stop showed that the new chancellor was plunging into world affairs, sending a message that Germany is back after his predecessor’s more timid approach. Macron touted their meeting as “a new page” in the French-German partnership.

In particular, France is looking for German backing for increased EU defense spending in the face of Russia’s threat as well as concerns that Trump is pivoting from its post-World War II relationship with Europe to focus on countering China.

The French president also said France and Germany would “act hand in hand” in the face of Trump’s tariffs and work for “a united European response and a balanced outcome that respects our interests.”

80th anniversary of World War II

The stops in Paris and Warsaw occurred on the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. The meeting with Macron was particularly loaded with symbolism for the two countries that were bitter enemies in World War I and II.

The first war ended with an armistice agreement signed in a railway car north of Paris. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler then used that railway car in accepting France’s capitulation in 1940, after its defenses succumbed to the German invasion.

“German-French friendship is a gift, a gift of forgiveness and reconciliation, especially for us Germans,” Merz said.

Poland’s leader re-affirmed his support for a strengthened European defense, which would include a stronger German military.

“It is not easy, considering history, to say out loud, as a Polish prime minister, that I would very much like Germany to arm itself faster and more intensively,” Tusk said. “Armed Germany in Poland is not a popular slogan, but fortunately today we live in times when there is a different Germany, a different Poland, different threats.”

___

Leicester reported from Paris. Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Rafal Niedzielski in Warsaw, Poland, contributed.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Israel’s actions in Gaza “can no longer be justified by the fight against Hamas terrorism,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.

Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Merz said that Germany must exercise more restraint than any other country when commenting on Israel.

“But if lines are crossed, where international humanitarian law is really being violated, then Germany, the German chancellor, must also say something about it,” Merz said.

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While he emphasized the close relationship between Germany and Israel, Merz said “the Israeli government must not do anything that its best friends are no longer prepared to accept,” highlighting the “suffering” of the civilian population in Gaza in recent days.

Israel has launched another offensive in Gaza, with dozens of deaths reported in the war-torn coastal territory daily.

The move has sparked international condemnation, amid warnings that the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing the risk of starvation due to Israel’s recent blockade of humanitarian aid.

Merz’s comments came after a leading German foreign policy expert said public criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza by the country’s allies has had “zero” effect in protecting Palestinian lives.

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Armin Laschet told broadcaster ZDF on Monday that a joint statement issued last week by Britain, France and Canada calling Israel’s escalation of military activity in Gaza “disproportionate” had no impact in ending the conflict or ensuring humanitarian aid could reach the territory.

Laschet, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, said the new conservative-led German government’s “quiet diplomacy” and “clear words” to Israel were “more effective than constant resolutions and pithy slogans.”

Germany has taken a more cautious approach than other EU states in criticizing Israel during the war in Gaza, which broke out in 2023 following the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Berlin sees Israeli security as a “reason of state” due to Germany’s historic responsibility for the Holocaust.

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However, Laschet insisted that the term “doesn’t mean you can’t criticize Israel, you can’t demand aid deliveries, you can’t criticize the prime minister.”

“You can do all that,” said Laschet. “You can also say that the government has right-wing extremist ministers, you can also say that the war aims are wrong.”

The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, expressed a similar view on Monday in an interview with the rbb radio station.

“We must learn to distinguish between the actions of the Israeli government and Israel as a whole, there are big differences,” said Klein.

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However, he rejected a call by centre-left lawmakers in the Bundestag to end German arms exports to Israel.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also rejected a Spanish proposal for an arms embargo on Israel during a visit to Madrid on Monday.

Israel’s actions in Gaza “can no longer be justified by the fight against Hamas terrorism,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.

Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Merz said that Germany must exercise more restraint than any other country when commenting on Israel.

“But if lines are crossed, where international humanitarian law is really being violated, then Germany, the German chancellor, must also say something about it,” Merz said.

Advertisement Advertisement

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While he emphasized the close relationship between Germany and Israel, Merz said “the Israeli government must not do anything that its best friends are no longer prepared to accept,” highlighting the “suffering” of the civilian population in Gaza in recent days.

Israel has launched another offensive in Gaza, with dozens of deaths reported in the war-torn coastal territory daily.

The move has sparked international condemnation, amid warnings that the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing the risk of starvation due to Israel’s recent blockade of humanitarian aid.

19 MPs of Turkish origin to serve in German parliament in new term

BERLIN

Nineteen candidates of Turkish descent secured seats in the German parliament in the general elections, slightly surpassing the previous term’s figure, according to the official results.

With over 28 percent of the vote, conservative election winner Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc handily defeated Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, as the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) celebrated a record of over 20 percent.

The provisional results of the general elections indicated that 19 lawmakers of Turkish origin will serve in the 21st Bundestag, the German parliament.

According to the German Turkish Community (TGD), of the more than 3 million people of Turkish descent residing in Germany, more than 1 million hold citizenship and the right to vote and to run in the elections.

Scholz’s SPD has sent seven Turkish lawmakers to the parliament, the Left Party (Die Linke) seven, CDU/CSU bloc three and the Greens (Grüne) two.

Hülya Düber from the CSU has become the party’s first member of parliament of Turkish descent.

In the previous term, 18 individuals of Turkish origin entered the Bundestag.