Overview

• SPD figures including development minister Reem Alabali Radovan have publicly urged Chancellor Merz to endorse the joint statement condemning Israel’s Gaza actions
• Germany abstained from the 29-nation declaration that criticized the “drip feeding of aid” to Gaza and deplored hundreds of civilian deaths
• Chancellor Merz told Prime Minister Netanyahu he does not share Israel’s Gaza policy and renewed his call for necessary humanitarian assistance for civilians
• Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius maintains that private diplomatic efforts by Chancellor Merz and Foreign Minister Baerbock match the joint declaration’s substance
• Coalition tensions reflect a clash between the CDU’s Holocaust-informed caution and the SPD’s call for visible condemnation, highlighting Germany’s diplomatic balancing act