Germany plans to put more pressure on Israel over Gaza, minister says
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Monday that Berlin plans to put more political pressure on Israel as it intensifies military operations in Gaza.
Klingbeil, who leads the Social Democrats, the junior party in Germany's governing coalition, made the statement after meeting European Commission Vice President Stéphane Séjourné.
"It has also been agreed within the coalition that we will do this, and that is the right thing to do," Klingbeil said, adding he could support what Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said earlier.
"As the Federal Republic of Germany, we must also make it clear among friends, given the historical responsibility we bear towards Israel, what is no longer acceptable." This point has been reached, he said.
Klingbeil added that further steps would be discussed jointly within the government. When asked about one party's demands for an embargo on arms for Israel, he declined to comment.
Merz earlier emphasized Germany's partnership with Israel, but warned that "the Israeli government must not do anything that its best friends are no longer prepared to accept."
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