Hierarchy of Goals: Germany's Gaza Policy

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he course adopted by German decision-makers in the face of Israel’s attacks on Gaza clearly violates the principles of law, democracy, and human rights that Germany’s foreign policy claims to promote. It also exposes the fact that in the hierarchy of objectives, support for Israel is at the top with  the protection of human rights and the promotion of freedoms lagging behind.

Decision-makers in Berlin have been severely criticized for their policy towards direct Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza, which appear to contradict Germany’s general foreign policy principles. The question and criticism regard why Germany, whose foreign policy advocates the development of democracy and the protection of human rights, which claims to promote a peaceful foreign policy, and which in the case of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict claims to advocate a two-state solution, openly supports Israel’s gross violations of human rights and its attempts to separate Gaza from Palestine.

A couple of observations on foreign policy might prove insightful for analyzing Berlin’s position. The first point to emphasize is that there is not always harmony between the principles expressed at the level of foreign policy discourse and the objectives pursued by a state. What is more, a country’s foreign policy objectives do not always serve its own interests. A number of internal or external factors can cause a country’s foreign policy to deviate from a rational line and foreign policy goals can be set that serve the interests of narrow but influential circles rather than the country’s national interests.

The following specific questions can be asked about Germany’s policy towards the Israeli attacks on Gaza: How can we evaluate Germany’s Gaza policy in terms of its foreign policy principles? What are the goals of Germany’s Gaza policy and what is the hierarchy, i.e., the order of priority, between these goals? To what extent do these goals and the path Berlin is taking to achieve them serve German interests?

Berlin’s policy of contradictions

An analysis of the rhetoric of German politicians and the basic texts of German foreign policy show that among the fundamental principles of its foreign policy are the protection and promotion of international law, the promotion of peace, freedom and democracy in the world, the protection of human rights, the strengthening of the transatlantic partnership, and integration within the European Union. Yet, Berlin’s policy towards the Middle East, in general, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in particular, seriously contradict these principles.

In fact, a closer look reveals that these goals are themselves full of contradictions. For example, on the one hand, Germany advocates a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and, on the other hand, it is one of the countries that provides the most economic and military support to Israel, making a two-state solution more and more impossible.

This contradiction arises from the fact that the main objective of Germany’s Middle East policy is premised on Israel’s security which is seen as a part of the German state’s national goals and as Germany’s historical responsibility. Placing this goal at the top of the hierarchy of objectives makes it difficult to achieve other goals, such as supporting a two-state solution, promoting peace in the region by helping to build civilian infrastructure in the Palestinian territories, preventing violence that could radicalize the peoples of the region, and developing Germany’s economic relations with the countries in the region.

Israel’s policy of usurping the Palestinian territories in the order of “first, occupation; second, changing the demography of the occupied territories through settlers (civilian/armed occupiers) and intimidation; and third, annexation” makes it impossible to implement the secondary objectives of German regional policy.

This contradiction is illustrated, for example, by the fact that Berlin feels obliged to act in accordance with its main objective of “protecting and supporting Israel” and continues to provide economic and military aid to this state, despite the fact that every two-three years Israel bombs countless civilian infrastructure facilities in the Gaza Strip which Germany and other countries have built countless times in support of peace. Similarly, Berlin claims to be in favor of a two-state solution, but does not take any steps to dissuade Israel from pursuing these policies. On the contrary, it continues to provide uninterrupted economic and military support to Tel Aviv, despite the fact that the loss of integrity of the territories in the region under Palestinian administration by Israel’s annual construction of thousands of new housing units for Jewish settlers armed “civilian” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, makes the establishment of a Palestinian state almost impossible.

This contradiction becomes even more apparent when viewed from the perspective of Germany’s general foreign policy principles. After the October 7, 2023 attack on Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories by Hamas, German leaders made statements stressing Israel’s right to defend itself; however, they failed to mention the blockade, oppression, and massacres Israel has been carrying out against Gaza before this attack.

Furthermore, German politicians preferred to remain silent about Israel’s attacks after October 7, which have clearly exceeded the limits of self-defense, targeting Palestinian children, women, civilian settlements, hospitals, schools, and civilians who have sought shelter in UN-guarded buildings. Weeks after the state-sponsored massacre started, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock continue to support the actions of the Israeli state led by a religious extremist or racist fanatic Zionist cadre, claiming that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”

Support for Israel as a Priority

The German decision-makers have clearly violated the principles of law, democracy, human rights, and freedom that German foreign policy promotes, while at the same time demonstrating that in the hierarchy of objectives, support for Israel is at the top and the protection of human rights and promotion of freedoms take a back seat. Is this surprising? Well, it is not the first time that Germany has acted in this way. Germany has repeatedly shown that when there is a mismatch between principles, goals, and interests, it does not act according to principles, but according to the goals that best serve Germany’s interests. When there were coups in Algeria in 1992, Egypt in 2013, and Turkey in 1997 and in 2016 (a failed attempt), the governments in Germany did not side with democracy but with the coup plotters.

Human rights, the promotion of democracy, and the promotion of freedoms are concepts that are routinely instrumentalized in order to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries. Germany is not alone in doing so. Similar to other countries, German leaders know when and in which areas of foreign policy to use these concepts and when to ignore them—the decision is based on Germany’s national interests. However, how are Germany’s national interests served by the extremely pro-Israeli policies of the current SPD-Greens-FDP coalition government in the face of Israel’s massacres in Gaza? Also, to what extent is this policy of “supporting Israel in whatever it does” compatible with Germany’s national interests towards the region? The answers to these questions are closely related to the extent of the influence of the Zionist lobby in Europe—and especially in the U.S.—on German foreign policy and the actors through which it exerts this influence.