Germany's Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, stated on Wednesday that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks but acknowledged that supplying weapons to Israel presents "a dilemma" due to concerns over potential violations of international law, Reuters reported.
Baerbock made these remarks after arriving in Lebanon for discussions aimed at de-escalating the growing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
"On the one hand, Israel is attacked every day and not supporting it would mean that people are not (being) protected ... On the other, it is also Germany's responsibility to stand up for international humanitarian law," Baerbock was quoted as having said.
Despite her comments, Baerbock did not suggest that Germany was reconsidering its long-standing policy of supplying arms to Israel.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently made clear that Germany is set to increase its weapons deliveries to Israel soon. The announcement followed a marked decline in shipments to Israel this year, which had led to criticism from the opposition that Berlin was intentionally delaying the exports.
Baerbock reiterated on Wednesday that Israel has the right to defend itself against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, but also emphasized Israel’s responsibility to uphold international humanitarian law in doing so.
Her comments follow several recent incidents in which UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, claimed that Israel hit its outposts in southern Lebanon and claimed that Israel was deliberately targeting its peacekeepers.
The IDF has stressed that it has instructed UNIFIL personnel to enter into protected spaces before the strikes and added and explained that Hezbollah deliberately operates with the intent to harm Israeli civilians from civilian areas and near UNIFIL posts.
"Any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers violates humanitarian law," Baerbock stated on Wednesday.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)