Berlin/Ramallah – The big picture was at stake this Saturday morning: Friedrich Merz met with the ministers of his security cabinet. The question: Can he – the tenth Chancellor of post-Hitler Germany – still stand firmly by Israel's side without appearing callous to the suffering in Gaza? Or will he abandon the much-vaunted"German raison d'état" toward Israel?

Merz had sent his Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul (CDU), on an expedition to explore what leeway there is, how far Israel is willing to go in Gaza—or whether a change of course is imminent. Wadephul spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog (64), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited Christians in the West Bank who are being terrorized by Israeli settlers and with hostage relatives—and met with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader and Holocaust denier.

This Saturday, he will report the results to the Security Cabinet. Then a statement will be issued. Missing from it—a first!—is a message of solidarity with Israel."Reason of state" is completely absent. Quite deliberately.

Merz sends tough signals to Jerusalem

It's a tough signal to Jerusalem. According to BILD, Merz insists that they don't distance themselves even a millimeter from the state (the right to exist!) and its people. BUT: They are distancing themselves from the Netanyahu government. The way the war is being waged in Gaza, the settlement policy in the West Bank – but above all, the suffering of the civilians in the Gaza Strip:"unacceptable."

▶︎ Merz is at the end of a week that could one day be one of the most difficult and decisive of his term in office.

Last Saturday: Crisis phone call with French President Macron and British Prime Minister Starmer. The day before, the Frenchman had announced, without prior agreement, that he intended to recognize the Palestinian state in September. He caught Merz off guard, increasing the pressure – from the left wing of the SPD and from the streets.

In Berlin, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian mobs once again took to the streets that Saturday – this time even at a queer demonstration for the Hamas terrorist Islamists in Gaza. The counter-demonstrations are small, quiet, and rare.

Monday: In the morning, Merz meets with the security cabinet at the Chancellery. It's decided: Wadephul must go to Israel. Outside, a mood is gathering that is changing something. In the country, in the coalition, and also in Merz's circle. He seems more thoughtful. Is he wavering?

From the New York Times to Die Zeit to Stern, magazines have been publishing photos of starving children in Gaza for days: lots of skin and bones, little light. The photos have an impact: the pressure is growing in the country: Do something, Chancellor! Children are really starving in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The blame lands solely on Israel.

Merz sets up airlift to Gaza

▶︎ Merz announced a Bundeswehr airlift for Gaza on Monday. At least one could not simply accuse Merz of inhumanity.

Tuesday: Merz discusses details of the airlift with Jordan's King Abdullah II (63). But then comes the next blow: Britain's Starmer also suggests recognizing a Palestinian state. Merz now stands almost alone. The US and Germany are the last major powers standing by Israel. At least: The Israel crisis can bring Berlin closer to Washington again. That, at least: a hope.

Wednesday: Merz gives Wadephul, who is scheduled to fly the next day, the direction he needs to take. Israel's actions in Gaza are"unacceptable." But he makes it clear: recognition of a potential Palestinian state can only come "at the end of a process."

A sign. Nothing more. For Merz, the beginning would be the end of Hamas. It must be disarmed and disempowered, dissolved. That is, one day in the distant future, when the intractable problem of terror and hatred has been solved. Israel's foreign minister tells the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung what a Palestinian state would be now:"...a jihadist terrorist state in the middle of our heartland." Merz sees it that way. US President Trump agrees.

Union foreign policy makers at home are appalled

Thursday: When Wadephul arrives in Tel Aviv, another man is already there: Trump's special envoy for the region, Steve Witkoff (68). Two allies are assessing the situation. Wadephul often speaks of"fundamental problems" in Israel, never mentioning"reasons of state." Instead, he says something else:

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza exceeds all imagining." CDU/CSU foreign policy officials at home are horrified: "All imagining!?" – Wadephul "apparently lacks imagination and memory," a veteran CDU foreign policy expert told BILD. Wadephul continued:"A mass death in the context of a famine" must be averted. He addressed this to Israel.

Friday: Wadephul is in the West Bank, and the German Armed Forces launch their airlift to Gaza: soldiers drop 34 pallets containing nearly 14 tons of food and medical supplies from transport planes. A signal to everyone – including those in Germany: The Chancellor is doing something.

This Saturday: When Wadephul reported to the Security Cabinet, he spent two days peering into the kaleidoscope of the Middle East conflict: victims, perpetrators, victim-perpetrators… guilt and atonement, and the eternal death threat against Israel. But: Did Wadephul gain a clear overall picture in his diplomatic high-wire act? Does Merz really need to concern himself with German anti-Israel sanctions after this week?

Does he really want to cross that bridge? Despite"reasons of state"? No.

▶︎ After the emergency meeting of the security cabinet, it was stated:"Israel remains obligated to ensure comprehensive supplies, including with the support of the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations." This, too, is a sign. But Merz makes it clear in the security context: The main problem is the terrorist Hamas.

According to BILD, the German government assumes that 50 to 100 percent of all international aid ends up with Hamas! Dressed in diplomatic language, this sounds like this:"At the same time, the German government is concerned about reports that large quantities of aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organizations." Another sign. A clear one.