Merz: Germany still to decide whether to back sanctions on Israel

By David Latona and Andreas Rinke

MADRID (Reuters) - Germany will reach a decision on whether to back European Union sanctions against Israel before a European Union meeting in Copenhagen in October, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on a visit to Madrid on Thursday. 

 Speaking alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Merz said Israel's actions in Gaza were not proportional to its stated goals, but said Germany did not share the view that the actions amounted to genocide. He added that for Germany, the recognition of Palestinian statehood was not currently up for debate. 

Merz's comments underscore how Germany has become increasingly willing to criticise Israel but is still reluctant to take punitive measures against a country for which its government feels a special responsibility.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed suspending a trade arrangement affecting about 5.8 billion euros ($6.87 billion) of Israeli exports due to the Gaza war, although the measure does not currently have enough support among EU nations to pass.

"We will reach a final opinion of the German government on these questions, which now need to be answered at the European level, in the coming days," Merz said

"We will discuss these issues again next week at the federal cabinet level. I assume that we will then have a position at the informal council meeting on October 1 in Copenhagen that will also be supported by the entire German government."

Germany maintains it has a particular obligation to Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust of Europe's Jews, a position that has come under strain due to growing European alarm at the Gaza conflict, in which some 64,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Israeli tanks were advancing on Thursday in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to further escalate imminently.

(Reporting by David Latona and Andreas Rinke; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)