Not a day goes by without new and disturbing news from the war in Gaza. The question of a “red line” seems like a cruel joke after more than a year and a half of war, the destruction of much of the Gaza Strip, and tens of thousands killed or injured, yet the Israeli government and its German supporters nonetheless appear to believe that no such line has yet been crossed. Policymakers, even in Germany, have continued to do nothing in response.
Katja Hermann is a senior advisor for West Asia at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Berlin.
The Israeli government’s most recent statements indicating that it is going to expand its military operations in Gaza and establish a permanent military presence there, mean another massive escalation. It indicates that the Israeli government has again made a decision that violates international law, humanitarian law, and internationally documented human rights standards. Amidst plans to once again displace the Palestinian population to the southern part of the coastal strip, the world is witnessing preparations for ethnic cleansing.
Trump’s Expulsion Plan
It goes without saying that Washington is aligned with these plans; they fit perfectly with Trump’s fantasy of turning Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” — once the population has been displaced into neighbouring Egypt and Jordan. We can see just how serious Israel and the US are about this displacement scenario by the fact that the Trump plan, which was initially roundly rejected by the international community, has by no means been taken off the table. On the contrary, the US president seems to be sticking with it, as confirmed by his most recent statements.
The fact that the United States has been applying intense pressure on Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is a testament to the real danger in this scenario. Thus far, Egypt and Jordan have strictly rejected any extensive intake of Palestinians, as this would mean participating in the displacement and thus being seen to break a taboo — and not only in the eyes of the Arab world. At the same time, there is no interest in further straining the already-fragile internal demographic balance, especially in Jordan, where most of the Palestinian population has roots. Moreover, taking in Palestinians would create incalculable domestic policy tensions in both countries and severely increase pressure on their governments. In the meantime, Egypt and Jordan, both of which signed peace agreements with Israel decades ago, are important allies to the US and the West. They receive an enormous amount of economic, military, and development aid particularly from the US, but also from other Western countries, including Germany. Whether and for how long Jordan and Egypt can afford to reject the US is an open question.
If we look at the desolate situation in Gaza, the deafening silence from German policymakers is terrifying.
There is a relentlessness to the continuous displacement of people within Gaza, which has been ongoing since the start of the war, and the current scenario of forced relocation — in part because the history of the Palestinians is a history of displacement and destruction that has been deeply inscribed in their collective memory. Despite UN resolutions, to date there have been no reparations for the losses they have suffered since 1948, let alone any possibility of returning to the places from which they were expelled or had to flee during the ensuing wars. Agreement on a two-state solution, which Palestinian leadership affirmed in the 1990s and whereby the Palestinians would relinquish their claims to a large part of the land, is regarded among Palestinians to have been a historic compromise that was made in order to find a pragmatic solution to the decades of territorial conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. Even if the formula of “two states for two peoples” has never been implemented, it is nonetheless regarded in the international community — including in Germany — as a frame of reference for a future negotiated solution.
What is happening now in the Gaza Strip is on a completely different scale and makes a long-term political solution impossible. What was originally justified by the right to self-determination, the necessity of eliminating Hamas, and the rescue of Israeli hostages has led to the sweeping destruction of the Gaza Strip. In light of Israel’s systematic warfare on the civilian population, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently considering a charge of genocide.
There Is No Escape
In this context, we must remember that, right from the outset, the population of Gaza had no opportunity to escape the war. Because the territory’s borders were completely closed, people could not even flee (with the exception of the first few weeks, when some people were still able to escape to Egypt). They have no way of protecting themselves against Israel’s attacks, because there are no bunkers or shelters for ordinary people in Gaza. With Hamas and its allies brutally suppressing protests, it is hardly possible to revolt against their rule. It is therefore all the more remarkable that there have nonetheless been multiple open protests against Hamas in recent weeks. The way in which political discourse and the media have failed to distinguish between Hamas and the rest of the population of the Gaza Strip has led to a dehumanization that has allowed Israel’s actions in Gaza to either be ignored or largely portrayed as broadly tolerable, and this is especially the case in Germany.
At the start of the year, the Israeli government prohibited the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from doing work in Gaza from within Israel. As a result, the most important humanitarian organization for supporting this population in need has effectively been sidelined. By taking that step, Israel is disregarding a UN-mandated institution that has served and provided support to the Palestinian people for decades. In early March, Gaza’s borders, which were only sporadically opened for humanitarian aid anyway, were closed completely and supplies of food and other aid supplies to the coastal strip ceased. The resulting famine was a deliberate act; it is part of the systematic warfare waged against a population living under occupation and blockade. Here as well, Israel is ignoring human rights and international humanitarian law, which stipulates every person’s right to sustenance and food security, and which remains applicable even during wartime.
The German Government Must Act
If we look at the desolate situation in Gaza, the deafening silence from German policymakers is terrifying. Admittedly, Germany has provided around 300 million euro for humanitarian aid for Palestine since the start of the Gaza war, with most of those funds going towards medical and food aid.
With respect to Gaza, the international community has failed.
However, the German government has not taken appropriate action. Explicit criticism of Israel’s actions is rare; instead, Germany continues to supply weapons and military equipment and regularly assures Israel of its unqualified loyalty. Not even invitations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are rejected, even though the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for him for alleged crimes against humanity. It is in this context that we have seen CDU leader Friedrich Merz, the new chancellor of Germany as of 7 May, inviting Netanyahu to visit Germany on the eve of his election, while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on a trip to Israel to celebrate 60 years of German–Israeli relations in the company of President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu. This means that Germany is putting its doctrine of Staatsräson above international law and justice, while also making itself complicit.
With respect to Gaza, the international community has failed. It has not been able to stop the genocidal war, prevent catastrophic famine, or mount a meaningful opposition to a possible expulsion. And yet international humanitarian law implies an obligation on the part of third-party states to take action to avoid these kinds of catastrophes.
When it comes to providing financial and development aid, Germany has long been active in Palestine. However, that is no longer enough in light of the human-made tragedy in the Gaza Strip. The red line was crossed long ago. Germany must finally say goodbye to its blind loyalty to Israel and make use of all available means to prevent the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip — a goal that ministers in the Netanyahu government have openly proclaimed.
Translated by Joseph Keady and Rowan Coupland for Gegensatz Translation Collective.