Berlin Maintains Cautious Stance Amid Unclear Israeli Election Outcome

Two days after Israel’s parliamentary elections concluded, German officials are maintaining a cautious stance, as the composition of the country’s next government remains highly uncertain.

While the right-wing bloc, led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and including religious hardliners, holds a slight lead over the opposition bloc headed by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, neither faction has secured a clear path to a governing majority in the Knesset.

Forming a stable coalition government is expected to pose a significant challenge.

Martin Giese, spokesperson for German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, declined to offer official comments during Wednesday’s regular government press conference in Berlin.

However, Giese emphasized that Germany has maintained communication with numerous Israeli officials and politicians through its ambassador. “The Jewish state and Germany are inextricably linked by our shared history, and we will endeavor to cooperate constructively with any future government,” Wadephul stated.

No clear winner emerges in Israel’s election

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Alabali Radovan: ‘Winter in Gaza will be difficult’

A key concern for the German government is the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where prolonged coalition negotiations could delay critical progress.

“Winter is coming, and it will be difficult,” warned Reem Alabali Radovan, Germany’s Development Minister, during an interview with Politico while visiting Lebanon. She stressed the urgent need to create more access for aid organizations to deliver essential assistance in Gaza, emphasizing that such efforts cannot wait for coalition negotiations to conclude.

In separate interviews with DW and broadcaster RTL, she addressed the recent surge in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“The radical settler violence must be stopped. Since the Netanyahu government remains in office on an interim basis, it is imperative that this situation is brought to an end,” she asserted.

All settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories is considered illegal under international law.

More distanced from Netanyahu’s government

Germany and Israel have historically maintained close relations, rooted in Germany’s historical responsibility for the Holocaust, during which Nazi Germany murdered millions of Jews.

Recently, however, the German government has increasingly distanced itself from the policies of Netanyahu’s administration, at least in its public rhetoric.

Most recently, Foreign Minister Wadephul commented following a major Israeli military operation near Hebron, stating: “Under international law, Israel is quite clearly obligated to uphold and protect the rights of Palestinians as well.” The operation, which followed the reported killing of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinians, resulted in approximately 3,000 Palestinians being driven from their homes.

In Berlin, there has long been speculation about whether Germany’s policy toward Israel might shift following the election and the formation of a new government.

For now, one thing remains clear: unlike numerous other nations, including some in Europe, Germany does not intend to recognize a Palestinian state at this time.

Israeli army demolishes Palestinian buildings in Hebron

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CDU hoping for a centrist government

At the same time, Berlin hopes that the future Israeli government will exclude religious extremists and far-right politicians, such as current Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“I think it would be best for Israel to form a government closer to the center of the political spectrum,” Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy expert for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Bundestag, told DW. “Of course, that is something the citizens, and above all the elected politicians, will have to figure out. But it is encouraging that so many people participated in the election.”

Arab-majority parties, led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, made significant gains in this election. Typically aligned with the opposition camp, these historic results could position them as kingmakers in the upcoming coalition negotiations.

However, Netanyahu’s bloc has ruled out cooperating with the Arab-majority parties.

While Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has not yet stated whether it would be willing to form such a coalition, one of the Arab-majority parties, the United Arab List, fielded a Jewish candidate and has expressed its willingness to cooperate with Eisenkot’s bloc to oust Netanyahu.

Hardt believes that a minority government led by Eisenkot and supported by parties representing Arab Israelis is a conceivable scenario.

“The aggressive campaign waged by Netanyahu’s camp, primarily targeting Arab Israelis, greatly mobilized the opposition, to the point where his camp no longer holds a majority.”

Omid Nouripour, a Green Party politician and vice president of the German Bundestag, told DW: “Frankly, after all the turmoil that has occurred — for example, regarding judicial reform — this is good news for Israeli democracy.”

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