Pressure piles on Merz to punish Israel over Gaza – POLITICO
· POLITICOBRUSSELS — As famine looms in Gaza, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces pressure to drop staunch support for Israel and allow Brussels to penalize Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The European Commission this week proposed halting parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, warning that the Israeli government has triggered a “humanitarian catastrophe” that threatens “virtually the entire Gaza population.”
A growing number of EU countries favor taking such a step, but Germany has so far refused to sign off on the proposal, which would mark a clear break from its traditionally unwavering support for Israel. Diplomats from multiple EU countries privately voiced their frustration with Berlin after Merz suggested he wanted to see how the situation on the ground develops in the coming days.