Former German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, according to media reports Monday, adding to mounting criticism of Israel’s genocidal conduct in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
"I think there is plenty of evidence that war crimes were committed in Gaza,” Habeck told public broadcaster ARD.
While "every form of antisemitism must be named and fought, this should not lead to a ban on speaking out or to an unspoken rule that one must not criticize Israel and the Netanyahu government,” he added.
Habeck, who was Germany’s vice chancellor from 2021 until 2025, linked the rise in antisemitism to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
"The reason antisemitism is so prevalent on the left right now is because of Israel's actions and the war crimes it has committed in Gaza!”
The Green politician stressed that Israel was "not” a peaceful country.
"People think that because the Jews were victims after World War II and all the pogroms that followed, the state of Israel is a peaceful one. But it isn’t! Israel is a well-armed, combative, and-in that sense-also aggressive state toward the outside world,” said Habeck.
Furthermore, there is a step that goes even further. "And this step has gone much too far in many places in Gaza.” Many people in Israel would like "the German government to articulate the crimes or the criticism of Israel’s government more clearly and explicitly,” he added.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 73,000 people, wounded over 174,000 and caused massive destruction affecting about 90% of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza since October 2023.
