Germany faces criticism over conditional arms support to Israel amid Gaza violence

Germany's demand for assurances from Israel that it will not use German-supplied weapons against civilians in Gaza does not relieve it of its duty to prevent genocide, experts warned Monday.

According to German media reports, Germany recently requested that Israel provide assurances that it would not deploy German weapons against civilians in Gaza.

Despite the rising civilian toll in Gaza, Germany has continued to back Israel's military campaign.

"We see no signs that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza," German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a press briefing in Berlin.

Germany has authorized the export of military equipment to Israel, including spare parts for tanks and helicopters.

As a close ally of Israel, German officials have often cited a "special responsibility" for Israel's security due to Germany's Nazi history.

In 2023, Germany approved €326.5 million ($356 million) in military exports to Israel, although this year's exports have fallen to around €15 million ($16.4 million).

International law experts criticized Germany's recent request for Israel to sign a so-called "genocide clause."

Mark Kersten from the University of the Fraser Valley commented on X: "If you need your partner to sign a 'don't-commit-genocide-with-our-weapons' clause, you shouldn't be sending and selling that partner weapons at all."

Juliette McIntyre of the University of South Australia echoed these concerns, saying that Germany's actions indicate recognition of the potential for genocide.

"This is really quite an extraordinary admission that (Germany) considers there to be a risk of such conduct occuring. Which in turn means Article 1 of the Genocide Convention applies, and I don't think 'please don't do genocide with these particular arms' counts as prevention," she wrote on X.

Janina Dill, an expert on international law, argued that Germany's request for assurances implies awareness of the risk of genocide, triggering its legal duty to prevent such acts.

"Asking 'promise not to genocide with our weapons' is not a good way to discharge that duty," she stated. "Less clear that this 'genocide clause' also implies knowledge of genocidal intent. In that case, Germany also risks complicity in genocide," she added.

Sergey Vasiliev from Open University added that Germany's request for assurances from Israel does not absolve it of its obligation under international law. "Germany would still be responsible, and its officials will also bear responsibility," he wrote on X.