1:59 p.m.: FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai wants to put Israel on an equal footing with its closest partners in the Western defense alliance when it comes to selling war weapons. After a committee meeting in Berlin, he demanded that there should be no room for speculation in the country’s difficult situation. “Especially when it comes to arms exports, we have to treat Israel like a NATO partner. And in my view, that is necessary given the amendment to the Arms Export Act,” says Djir-Sarai.
He calls on the Economics Minister and the Foreign Minister – i.e. the Greens Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock – to take a clear position. “We are still clearly on Israel’s side. It is an incredibly difficult situation for Israel at the moment, and there is of course concern about a major war in the Near and Middle East,” Djir-Sarai continues.
1:33 p.m.: The Israeli military is attacking targets in the Aitou region in northern Lebanon for the first time. This is what local residents and Lebanese radio stations report. It is the first time in a year that the area, which is home to a majority of Christians, has come under fire from Israel. Shiite and Sunni Muslims, Druze, Orthodox and Maronite Christians live in Lebanon, which is also reflected in the distribution of political power in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is fighting with Israel, is a Shiite militia and is primarily active in southern Lebanon.
12:32 p.m.: After a blockade lasting several days, the EU states have agreed to jointly condemn the Israeli shelling of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. The statement, released on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, said the attacks by Israeli forces constituted a serious violation of international law and were completely unacceptable. Urgent explanations and a thorough investigation are expected from the Israeli authorities.
The EU statement on the incidents with several injured peacekeepers was actually supposed to be published at the end of last week. However, the process dragged on due to a blockade by the EU state of the Czech Republic, which has particularly close ties to Israel. EU diplomats suspected on Monday that the government in Prague had even coordinated its actions with the Israeli government.