“Incompatible with international law.” Habeck intensifies his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza. The CSU accuses him of promoting the “anti-Semitic atmosphere” in Germany.
CSU General Secretary Martin Huber has sharply criticized Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) for accusing Israel of violating international law. “Robert Habeck’s statements are unbelievable and shameful,” Huber told the German Press Agency. The Economics Minister is “pouring oil on the fire of the already heated anti-Semitic mood in Germany.”
Habeck had previously criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza war in an unusually clear manner. “Of course, Israel must abide by international law. And the famine, the suffering of the Palestinian population, the attacks in the Gaza Strip are – as we now see in court – incompatible with international law,” said the Economics Minister on Saturday in a conversation with citizens at the Democracy Festival in Berlin. “That means it is indeed the case that Israel has crossed borders there, and it is not allowed to do that.” So far, the federal government had only expressed the expectation that Israel would adhere to international law in the Gaza war. The accusation of breaking international law is new.
Huber accused Habeck of using “the narrative of Hamas and the Israel haters”. His allegations bordered on perpetrator-victim reversal. “He joins the anti-Israel propagandists of left-wing anti-Semitism. This must have no place in our society,” said the CSU general secretary.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, requested arrest warrants on Monday for alleged crimes against humanity against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Galant, but the court has yet to rule on these. On Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately end the controversial military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. With this decision, the highest court of the United Nations in The Hague complied with several demands that South Africa had made in an urgent application. South Africa accuses Israel of genocide. Israel rejects this.