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Amnesty International protests German chancellor’s upcoming visit to Israel

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Amnesty International stage a protest against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s upcoming visit to Israel at Pariser Platz in Berlin, Germany on December 5, 2025. [Halil Sağırkaya – Anadolu Agency]

Amnesty International staged a demonstration in central Berlin on Friday to protest German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s planned weekend visit to Israel amid ongoing war crimes in Gaza, Anadolu reports.

Human rights activists gathered at Pariser Platz, placing a tank replica in front of the Brandenburg Gate to demand an end to German arms exports to Israel. They carried banners reading “Weapons are not welcoming gifts for war criminals” and “No weapons for war crimes in Gaza.”

Katja Muller-Fahlbusch, a Middle East and North Africa expert at Amnesty International, criticized Merz’s decision to visit Israel despite the Israeli government’s genocidal policies in Gaza and its violations of international law.

“We are protesting here today to say clearly and loudly, no business as usual with Israel,” Muller-Fahlbusch told Anadolu.

“The trip by Chancellor Merz sends a signal as if everything were normal in Gaza, as if the situation had calmed down. But people continue to suffer, the genocide continues, Israel’s war crimes continue, day after day, and that is what we are protesting against.”

The Amnesty activist also criticized the Merz government for lifting restrictions on arms exports to Israel, saying Germany should respect its international obligations and impose a complete arms embargo against Israel.

READ: Germany urges Israel to stop settlement construction in West Bank ahead of Merz-Netanyahu meeting

“It is a scandal that Mr. Merz is meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” she said. “Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He belongs in The Hague. This is not the moment to shake hands with him.”

Amid growing public pressure, Merz ordered restrictions on arms exports to Israel in August. However, he lifted these restrictions last month, citing the October 10 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Merz, a strong supporter of Israel, has repeatedly emphasized Germany’s historical responsibility for Israel’s security, rooted in its Nazi past and the Holocaust.

A representative poll published by the Korber Foundation last month found that 82% of Germans oppose the government’s military support to Israel for its war in Gaza. Only 15% expressed support.

The survey also revealed a fundamental shift in how Germans view their historical obligations, with 60% rejecting the notion that Germany bears special responsibility for Israel due to its history and the Holocaust. Just 38% supported this traditional stance.

READ: Germany lifts restrictions on arms exports to Israel: Spokesman

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Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.

Continue ReadingAmnesty International protests German chancellor’s upcoming visit to Israel

German chancellor calls Gaza situation ‘unacceptable’

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, Germany, on July 22, 2025. [Halil Sağırkaya – Anadolu Agency]

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “unacceptable,” according to media reports. Anadolu reports.

“One thing is clear to us: The situation there is unacceptable. It must end as quickly as possible. As long as it (this conflict) continues, at least a minimum of aid, medical assistance, and food aid must be guaranteed for the population. And Israel, of course, bears a considerable degree of responsibility for this,” Merz told journalists in the southwestern city of Saarbruecken.

Despite the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Germany has been one of the EU states to reject sanctions against Israel.

This was one of the reasons why EU governments were unable to agree on a proposal from the European Commission. The Commission proposed temporarily suspending Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe research funding program.

According to Merz, his government will soon decide on the next steps in the Gaza conflict. He expects a report from Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul once he returns from his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Saturday.

“We will await this report and make all further decisions,” the chancellor said when asked whether the German government could imagine participating in sanctions against Israel.

READ: Ben-Gvir slams German FM over Palestine statehood recognition plans

The government had already discussed in the Security Cabinet last Monday “how we might proceed together with our European partners,” he added.

Germany’s center-right government is under mounting pressure to adopt a tougher stance on Israel over what international human rights organizations say is a genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 60,200 Palestinians. The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and led to food shortages.

On Monday, Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s health care system.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.​​​​​​​

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Continue ReadingGerman chancellor calls Gaza situation ‘unacceptable’

Vance Faces Backlash Over Embrace of Germany’s Far-Right Just Ahead of Election

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025. (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Rebuking the U.S. vice president, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “a commitment to ‘never again’ is not reconcilable with support for the AfD.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance faced growing backlash on Saturday after scolding the European political establishment for shunning far-right parties and subsequently meeting with the leader of the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany, just a week ahead of the country’s general election.

While Vance did not explicitly mention Alternative for Germany, or AfD, during his remarks Friday at the Munich Security Conference, he declared that “there is no room for firewalls”—a reference to mainstream German political parties’ refusal to work with AfD or include it in governing coalitions.

The Guardianreported that “a whisper of ‘Jesus Christ’ and the squirming in chairs could be heard in an overflow room” during the U.S. vice president’s remarks, which he delivered a week after hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Munich to protest far-right extremism.

Following his speech, Vance met with AfD leader Alice Weidel, who praised the vice president’s Munich address as “excellent” in a post on X—a social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, who has also expressed support for AfD as he works to dismantle agencies throughout the U.S. government.

Reutersreported that Weidel—whose grandfather was a Nazi judge appointed directly by Adolf Hitler—met with Vance at his hotel “for about 30 minutes and discussed the Ukraine war, German domestic policy, and freedom of speech.”

Vance was the highest-ranking U.S. official to ever meet with the leader of the AfD, which is seen as the most extreme of Europe’s far-right parties.

On Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rebuked Vance and said that “we will not accept outsiders intervening in our democracy,” even “friends and allies.”

“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war,” Scholz said in his speech at the Munich Security Conference. “That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism.”

“A commitment to ‘never again’ is not reconcilable with support for the AfD,” said Scholz.

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Continue ReadingVance Faces Backlash Over Embrace of Germany’s Far-Right Just Ahead of Election