Status: 12.10.2023, 09:58 a.m.
By: Max Müller
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Germany bears a special responsibility for Israel's security. Everyone agrees on that. A lawyer explains what this means for the war in Israel.
"Israel's security is a reason of state for us." The phrase comes from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and her successor Olaf Scholz also emphasized this commitment in a government statement on Thursday. It is also written in exactly the same wording on page 155 of the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. Politicians and observers agree that Germany bears a special responsibility for Israel's security. But what does it look like in concrete terms?
Military expert Carlo Masala said on Tuesday evening on ZDF: "At the moment when Israel's existence is at stake, Germany would have to be prepared to actively defend Israel." He didn't get any more specific.
War in Israel is changing the Middle East: Reason of state is an important pillar of German policy
This may also be due to the fact that the phrase with the raison d'être is more of a mantra of German politics than a hard legal sentence, explains constitutional law expert Alexander Thiele. No one really knows what that means in practice. "This is a fundamental political guideline that has been shared by virtually all political parties since Angela Merkel's prominent statement and thus forms the undisputed starting point of Germany's Israel policy."
"However, it can at best be traced back indirectly to the Basic Law," says the professor of state theory at the BSP Business & Law School in Berlin IPPEN. MEDIA. "However, this statement does not give rise to any direct legal obligations for the time being."
Germany's support for the war in Israel: "There is no obligation in principle"
There is also no "formal duty to provide assistance", as is the case within NATO, says Thiele. What Israel expects from Germany is likely to be much more decisive. The demands range from unconditional solidarity to an end to development aid to Palestine. Arms deliveries or military support are ruled out, Israel's army spokesman Ayre Sharuz Shalicar told the Phoenix TV station.
At least that's the status quo. In view of the complex situation, with an additional threat from the Hezbollah militia in the north, the strict "no" could be softened – depending on how the situation develops. "It is politically inconceivable that Germany would refuse to supply weapons if Israel asked for it," says Thiele. And an active deployment of the Bundeswehr? This is legally difficult to imagine without a UN mandate. "Even then, however, there is no obligation to do so, and the Bundestag would also have to approve it," Thiele said.
The ball is in the government's court
Due to the opaque legal situation, there is also no legal claim on Israel's part to German aid, says Thiele. "Therefore, such a possibility does not exist either, as is the general rule in foreign policy actions – courts are reluctant to interfere in these highly political areas."
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And so the ball is in the court of politics right now. Thiele: "The responsibility for clarification lies at the political level and here primarily with the government. It can therefore use this guideline to justify specific assistance. The opposition, on the other hand, can invoke the principle to demand additional steps and complain that the government's actions do not sufficiently live up to the principle."
Germany leaves drones to Israel
The German government took a first step on Wednesday*. Germany is supporting Israel in the fight against the Islamist terrorist organisation Hamas with up to two Heron TP combat drones leased from the Bundeswehr. As the Federal Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday evening, Israel has turned to the German government with a request for use. The Ministry of Defense has agreed to this. The Bundeswehr currently leases five drones of this type. In Israel, German soldiers are trained on them.
And Israel has asked for further help in the form of ammunition for warships. This was said by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) on Thursday morning on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. In addition, according to information from the German Press Agency, blood reserves and protective vests were also requested. The inquiries will now be discussed with the Israelis, Pistorius said. "We stand with the Israelis."
*Transparency note: This article was first published on 11/10/2023. The section "Germany leaves drones to Israel" was added on 12.10.2023.