Reluctant Germany curbs Israel support in policy shift

Move comes amid growing public outcry as Israel escalates military action in Gaza

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BERLIN - The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel's plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to curb arms exports to Israel, a historically fraught step for Berlin driven by a growing public outcry.

Germany's conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, hitherto a staunchly pro-Israel leader, made the announcement on Aug 8, arguing that Israel's actions would not achieve its stated war goals of eliminating Hamas militants or bringing Israeli hostages home.

It is a bold move for a leader who, after winning elections in February, said he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Germany in defiance of an arrest warrant against him issued by the International Criminal Court.

The shift reflects how Germany's come-what-may support for Israel, rooted in its historical guilt over the Nazi Holocaust, is being tested like never before as the high Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza, massive war destruction and images of starving children are chipping away at decades of policy.

"It is remarkable as it is the first concrete measure of this German government. But I would not see it as a U-turn, rather a 'warning shot'," said Dr Muriel Asseburg, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

It caps months of the German government sharpening its tone over Israel's escalating military campaign in the small, densely populated Palestinian enclave, though still shying away from tougher steps that other European countries and some voices in Mr Merz's ruling coalition were calling for.

The suspension of arms deliveries to Israel would affect just those that could be used in Gaza.