Germany's Middle East diplomacy reaches limits

In January, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to the Middle East again. Her visit coincided with that of her US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Baerbock's previous three trips to the Middle East came on the heels of the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, which left nearly 1,200 people dead.

They aimed to signal Germany's support for Israel in its battle against the militant Hamas group, while also urging the Israeli army to do more to protect Palestinian civilians there. In a bid to contain the conflict and prevent regional escalation, the foreign minister also held talks with neighboring Arab states.

Tensions have risen in the meantime. International criticism of the scope of Israeli actions in Gaza are growing. And the conflict has escalated. Israel assassinated a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Germany and the EU, has stepped up its attacks on northern Israel.

Iran and the Houthi rebels

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also begun launching attacks in the Red Sea on merchant shipping heading to and from the Suez Canal.

The United States and the UK launched airstrikes on Houthi rebel sites late Thursday in response. According to Washington, the targets included logistic centers, air defense systems and weapon depots.

US President Joe Biden has said he would be willing to authorize further attacks on Yemen if Houthi attacks on shipping did not stop. "I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," he said.

Hans-Jakob Schindler, Middle East expert and Senior Director of the transatlantic think tank Counter Extremism Project, said that the global economy would face a grave problem if the situation continues. We cannot do without the Suez Canal for a year," Schindler told DW.

Germany is likely to soon become involved in the US-led mission in the Red Sea to ward off Houthi attacks.

Baerbock has also indicated that Berlin would no longer oppose the export of UK Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Germany has also authorized the export of IRIS-T guided missiles to the Gulf state.

German criticism of Israel

The German foreign minister is sticking with her earlier position on the core conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. The group is classified as a terrorist organization by a range of countries and organizations including the US, EU and Germany. Baerbock told Israel (on Sunday) that it could firmly count on Germany's solidarity in the fight against "the blind terror that wants to wipe Israel from the map.”

But she also called for an easing of the intensity of Israeli operations in Gaza in which thousands of civilians have been killed. "The suffering of many innocent participants cannot continue like this,” she said. Baerbock also criticized as illegal the actions of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank that included violence against Palestinians.

During her visit to Israel, the German foreign minister warned against any expulsion of Palestinians, an idea that individual ultra-right Israeli ministers have expressed. "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians," she said during her visit to Israel. It is a position shared by her US counterpart, Antony Blinken.

"Sadly, there is no uniform line coming from the Israeli government that we can respond to," said Hans-Jakob Schindler. But he said a basic consensus about Gaza seemed to be forming on the Israel side, which foresaw the continued existence of some kind of Israeli security structure over the medium or long term.

That, he said, raises the question of who, in that case, should govern Gaza. "There are no volunteers. There has been a loss of trust between Israel and the UN, who could act as an administrator. The Arab states have all taken a massive step back. Who else should do it? Certainly, not the Europeans either. There is no good idea out there," said Schindler.

Schindler warned that Israel's military action in Gaza had purely won time. He said that if Israel was unable to find a better solution then it would face the same security problems as before whether it was still facing Hamas or opponents of a different name.

Limited room for maneuver

But what kind of room for maneuver do Germany, the EU, or the US really have when it comes to politics in the Middle East? On the one hand, the US clearly has the leading role here and not Germany or the EU, according to Schindler.

On the other hand, Germany has contacts to a very varied assortment of regional players, including to Arab states. And the Biden administration's freedom to act is also restricted by the kicking-off of the US election campaign. "For Washington, clear positions are tied to political costs. They don't want to upset either Arab or Jewish voters."

Reactions in the Arab world

In the Arab media, Baerbock's visit was overshadowed by Antony Blinken's trip to the region at the same time. But the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya cited Baerbock's speech about the West Bank in which she said that it was Israel's duty to protect Palestinians in the region.

Al quds al araby, a London-based publication financed by Palestinian investors, is critical of Germany's Middle East policies and Baerbock's visit. In her press conference in Cairo, the foreign minister conveyed "messages supporting the Israeli occupiers in their aggression against the Gaza Strip," according to the newspaper.

Germany's position on Israel's war against Hamas also comes in for wider criticism.

According to the international media organization Al-Jazeera: "The German political elite has justified its stance with the alleged feeling of guilt for the Holocaust and the need to make amends by supporting Israel."

The commentary on the English-language online portal of the Qatar-funded broadcaster also accuses the Germany government of using this as a cover for trying to further normalize anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism and justify more draconian anti-immigration policies.

Berlin's position in the war is widely seen in the Arab media as being one-sided and, as one of Israel's clearest supporters, Germany tends to be regarded negatively.

This article was originally written in German.

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