Academics call on Germany's Annalena Baerbock to retract Gaza comments
Three hundred academics have co-signed a letter calling for Germany's foreign minister to retract a statement in which she suggested that civilian buildings in Gaza could lose their protected status under international law.
On 10 October, Annalena Baerbock made remarks in Germany's parliament marking the anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people.
During the speech, she said: "Self-defence means, of course, not only attacking terrorists, but also destroying them. This is why I have made it so clear that when Hamas terrorists hide behind people, behind schools, then we end up in very difficult waters.
"But we’re not shying away from this. This is why I made it clear at the United Nations that civilian sites could lose their protected status if terrorists abuse this status."
In a letter initiated by the Palestine Academic Group, 300 academics said Baerbock was "parroting Israel's old narrative of human shielding".
"Baerbock provides a flimsy justification for the genocidal campaign against Palestinian civilians," they wrote.
Read more: Academics call on Germany's Annalena Baerbock to retract Gaza comments
