BERLIN: A senior lawmaker in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition on Monday said Berlin should consider sanctions on Israel including a partial suspension of weapons exports or the suspension of a European Union-wide political agreement.
The call by Siemtje Moeller, the deputy leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) parliamentary faction, reflects a sharpening of rhetoric from Berlin against Israel which has yet to yield any major policy changes however.
Moeller, whose SPD joined a coalition with Merz’s conservatives this year, wrote a letter to SPD lawmakers after returning from a trip to Israel with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul last week.
“My assessment is that the Israeli government will move little without pressure. If such concrete improvements fail to materialize in the near future, there must be consequences,” she said in the letter, seen by Reuters.
Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be “taboo,” she said, adding that Israeli statements that there were no restrictions on aid to Gaza were not convincing.
