Germany’s SPD ups pressure on Merz to back EU sanctions on Israel

Senior figures in Germany’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Thursday announced their support for EU sanctions against Israel, piling pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz amid the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza City.

In an opinion piece for the t-online news platform, the party’s deputy parliamentary group leader, Siemtje Möller, and foreign policy spokesman Adis Ahmetović said the government’s “diplomatic approach” has so far “not been successful.”

“Israel is continuing undeterred with its policy, which violates international law and sabotages a two-state solution. We must take further steps to achieve peace in the region,” they wrote.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed sanctions against Israel to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to change course in the Gaza war.

Without Berlin’s approval, it is currently unlikely that the entire catalogue of sanctions will be adopted.

Top ministers from Merz’s conservative bloc, which is in coalition with the SPD, have outlined their opposition to further sanctions on Israel, such as recognizing a Palestinian state.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday said there is no need for further steps after Merz announced a halt on arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza in August.

At the beginning of August, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, from the conservative CDU, announced a partial halt to German arms exports to Israel in light of the ongoing ground offensive in Gaza City.

But the SPD figures said that Germany’s traditional support for Israel following the devastation of the Holocaust “does not justify blindly following the policies of the Israeli government, parts of which are currently far-right.”