- The German government has also been involved in the negotiations on the new nuclear power plant.
The chairman of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, Marcus Faber, views a deployment of the German military in the Middle East conflict skeptically. Germany should help Israel, for example by quickly approving arms exports, the FDP politician told the German Press Agency (dpa). However, he added: "The Bundeswehr has not been asked to go to Israel and could offer little help."
CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter had previously argued that, given the threat of an Iranian attack, the federal government should also offer Israel military assistance for defense. His party colleague Johann Wadephul disagrees. "Scenarios like military support are not on the agenda, and in any case, a Bundestag mandate would be necessary," the parliamentary vice-president told dpa.
The foreign policy spokesman of the Union faction, Jürgen Hardt, also contradicted Kiesewetter. He told the West German Broadcasting Corporation (WDR) that one should not raise expectations that German combat aircraft could be deployed to defend Israel. "I fear that the Bundeswehr would not be capable of this, even if we wanted to," Hardt said. He also believes that such questions should not be discussed openly, but behind closed doors.
SPD defense expert Andreas Schwarz told dpa: "So far, there have been no requests from Israel. However, I assume that the federal government is prepared and in contact with Israel and the Western allies on this issue." Schwarz pointed out that the protection of Israel is a matter of German state interest. "This is a clear commitment with very high responsibility. In case of emergency, these great words must also be followed by corresponding deeds."
The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was more explicit. While Germany's historical responsibility for Israel's security is not legally binding, Schuster said in a dpa interview, "But in my view, this naturally means that Germany, in the event of an attack on the scale currently threatened, would also stand militarily at the side of the Jewish state."
The skepticism towards deploying the German military in the Middle East conflict, as expressed by Chairman Faber, contrasts sharply with the view that Germany should provide military assistance to Israel in other ways, such as expediting arms exports. Despite the differing opinions within political parties, the protection of Israel is widely acknowledged as a matter of German state interest.
Despite the lack of a request for direct military intervention from Israel, the SPD's defense expert, Andreas Schwarz, believes that the German government is prepared and in contact with Israel and Western allies on the issue, emphasizing the importance of following through on commitments with high responsibility in case of an emergency.
