Germany has stepped back from its earlier pledge to support Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Gaza genocide case, in a significant shift from its position when South Africa first brought proceedings in 2023.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson said this week that Berlin will not intervene on Israel’s behalf in the case at The Hague, despite having announced in January 2024 that it would support Israel and rejecting South Africa’s allegations as unfounded.
The move marks a notable change in Germany’s public position. When South Africa filed its case accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention through its military assault on Gaza, Berlin was among the first Western governments to rally behind Israel, arguing that the accusation of genocide had “no basis”.
Putting it a bit strong, but Germany is quite conflicted. Anything antisemitic is understandably toxic, and Israel supporters know how to exploit that to make ordinary Germans support Israel no matter what. It’s not that they want Israel to do these things, more like socially unacceptable to even contemplate Israel could be wrong, ever