Pro-Palestine groups sue German politician over Gaza genocide

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
17 Feb 2024 15:41
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Volker Beck, a former member of parliament and leader of the German-Israeli Society, faces charges brought forth by Palestinian solidarity groups for suspected incitement of hate and denial of war crimes in Gaza.

Green Party's Volker Beck speaks in a debate of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, on Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP)

Pro-Palestine advocates have lodged criminal complaints against a German politician, accusing him of inciting hate and downplaying war crimes during the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza.

The charges targeting Volker Beck, a former parliamentarian and leader of the German-Israeli Society, were initiated by Palestinian solidarity organizations, Palestine Speaks, and Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East.

"This is the first step in holding public figures who publicly make genocidal statements legally accountable," the group said in a post on Telegram.

The charges, submitted to five prosecutor offices across Germany, point to Beck's social media statements, opinion pieces, and media interviews, where he voiced support for Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Specifically, he advocated linking humanitarian aid to the release of Israeli captives. Beck dismissed the allegations as "baseless."

"There is no genocide in Gaza and I do not advocate genocide," he said as quoted by Reuters.

Beck also counteracted by filing defamation complaints against the groups.

Germany's adamance in supporting genocide

Germany remains a fierce and avid supporter of the occupation and mass suffering of Palestinians.

Last month, the German Der Spiegel magazine reported that the German government is considering delivering tank shells to "Israel" to support its genocidal war against Gaza.

The magazine stated in a report that "Berlin received a request to supply [Israel with] about 10,000 precision shells of 120mm caliber to the Israeli army in November last year," stressing that "the relevant authorities have already approved the request preliminary."

Der Spiegel added that Berlin is considering supplying the IOF from the stocks of the German army to respond to the request urgently as the military industry cannot provide the required amount of precision ammunition immediately.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously voiced his opposition to an "immediate" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, amid increasing global pleas to end the war on Gaza and Israeli massacres.

He also said that "Israel's" purported right to "self-defense" must "not be called into question."

Nevertheless, the perspective among Germans differs. A recent poll conducted by the foundation Forschungsgruppe Wahlen found that anti-Israeli genocide sentiments have been on the rise among German voters.

The results of the poll showed that 61% of voters are critical of and oppose "Israel's" genocide in Gaza due to the colossal Palestinian death toll, slamming Israeli military conduct as "unjustified". In contrast, a diminishing 25% of voters support the genocide.

Last month, Deutsche Welle reported mass pro-Palestinian rallies that swept the German capital, Berlin. Protesters could be heard chanting slogans such as: "No to genocide in Gaza" and: "All together against fascism" while lighting candles as a tribute to Gaza's martyrs.

The protest was triggered by Germany's decision to declare its support for the Israeli occupation in the case raised against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice.