Germany's Merz sparks backlash by saying Israel doing ‘the dirty work' for West
dpa
Berlin
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has caused a stir at home after suggesting that Israel, which launched large-scale attacks on Iran last week, was doing 'the dirty work' for the West.
The remarks, made at the end of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada, drew ire from German politicians on Wednesday, including from members of Merz's coalition partner.
Ralf Stegner, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), told Der Spiegel news magazine that it was 'more than strange' that 'the chancellor says that Israel is doing our dirty work for us in Iran.'
He said Merz's statement suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attack against Iran 'was presumably contrary to international law.'
Stegner said it was completely inappropriate for a representative of Germany to publicly express relief in light of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with Iran having launched a number of retaliatory attacks since Israeli strikes began on Friday.
Speaking at the end of a meeting of the world's seven major industrialized nations, Merz on Tuesday told German public broadcaster ZDF that Israel is currently doing 'the dirty work' for the entire West.
'I can only say that I have the utmost respect for the Israeli army for having the courage to do this, and for the Israeli leadership for having the courage to do this,' he said.
While Sören Pellmann, head of the far-left The Left party in parliament, accused the German leader of 'throwing international law overboard,' Anton Hofreiter, from the opposition Greens, told broadcaster Welt TV that he thought Merz's choice of words had been 'clumsy.'
Germany has been one of Israel's fiercest backers throughout the country's military campaign in Gaza. Following Israel's attacks on Iran, the conservative-led government in Berlin did not condemn the strikes but stressed Israel's right to self-defence.
When confronted with the criticism in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz brushed off the comments. 'This statement has received overwhelming approval,' he said, claiming there had only been a few critical voices and refusing to comment further.
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