Germany disagrees with Amnesty’s genocide charge against Israel

The German government does not agree with Amnesty International’s allegation that Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The Genocide Convention prohibits acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin.

“In the opinion of the German government, this is not the case here,” Hoffmann said.

A Foreign Office spokesman also said he was unable to discern any clear intention to destroy an ethnic group, and accordingly could not “follow the conclusions of the Amnesty report at this point.”

The spokesman stressed that the allegations contained in the report, which was released on Thursday by the London-based rights group, were being taken very seriously and were in the process of being analysed.

The German government has long been calling for Israel to act within the framework of international humanitarian law and to better fulfil its obligations to protect civilians, the spokesman said.

Germany has expressed deep concern about the serious humanitarian situation and “continues to expect Israel to honour its commitment to flood the Gaza Strip with aid.”

In the almost 300-page report, Amnesty alleged that the Israeli military has committed war crimes in the course of its military offensive, and has deliberately brought suffering and destruction to the people living there.

The Israeli government described the report as “completely false.”

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage.

The German government does not agree with Amnesty International’s allegation that Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The Genocide Convention prohibits acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin.

“In the opinion of the German government, this is not the case here,” Hoffmann said.

A Foreign Office spokesman also said he was unable to discern any clear intention to destroy an ethnic group, and accordingly could not “follow the conclusions of the Amnesty report at this point.”

The spokesman stressed that the allegations contained in the report, which was released on Thursday by the London-based rights group, were being taken very seriously and were in the process of being analysed.

The German government has long been calling for Israel to act within the framework of international humanitarian law and to better fulfil its obligations to protect civilians, the spokesman said.

Germany has expressed deep concern about the serious humanitarian situation and “continues to expect Israel to honour its commitment to flood the Gaza Strip with aid.”

In the almost 300-page report, Amnesty alleged that the Israeli military has committed war crimes in the course of its military offensive, and has deliberately brought suffering and destruction to the people living there.

The Israeli government described the report as “completely false.”

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage.