After World War ii, Germany pledged to stand by Israel, becoming one of its most important allies and its second-largest arms supplier. Now, however, as Israel faces a multifront war against terrorism, Germany is doing little to help it eradicate the terrorist threat in Gaza and Lebanon. While vowing to support Israel, Germany also appears concerned about appeasing the other side. What is its agenda?

In a guest contribution for Bild am Sonntag published on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sent “a clear message to our Israeli friends: We stand by your side. Your security is part of our reason of state.” She reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense “against the violence of Hamas as well as against the rocket terror of Iran and Hezbollah.”

Following Iran’s attack on Israel on October 1, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire—this must be prevented at all costs. Hezbollah and Iran must immediately cease their attacks on Israel.”

While these words sound great in Israeli ears, Germany’s actions don’t match.

Supporting the Other Side

Germany has helped create the mayhem Israel is in now. For years, it has been Iran’s greatest European trading partner. In 2015, the United States fined Deutsche Bank $258 million for working with Iran despite sanctions on it. In 2020, the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran; Germany responded by introducing “a mechanism that Iran could use to circumvent the sanctions,” Bild wrote on October 4. “This allowed Iran to continue pumping its fresh billions from Iran into its army and its proxies from Syria to Yemen.”

These terrorist proxies are now attacking Israel, and what is Germany’s response? It criticizes Israel’s war efforts!

On September 27, Baerbock wrote: “‘In a competition of pain, there can be no winners.’ This is why Germany stands by its commitment to the security of #Israel. And this is why, at the same time, we are working every day to end the hell for the children of #Gaza.”

After the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Baerbock said: “This action leads to significant instability in the region and does not contribute to Israel’s security—in fact, [it does] the opposite.”

The German government stopped issuing export licenses for war weapons to Israel from March to August. The German government affirms that there is no arms embargo against Israel, it just didn’t (unlike previous years) approve any significant weaponry.

At the same time, Germany has provided nearly $400 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza since October 2023. It also recently approved $400.3 million worth of arms to Turkey, as Spiegel reported on October 6. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, compares Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, and has led Turkey into an alliance with the Palestinians and Hamas for 20 years.

Germany is also stepping up its diplomatic pressure on Israel. The German government “continues to persistently advocate for a ceasefire, which must now finally come about,” Scholz stated on October 6. “So that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip can be better protected and, of course, better cared for. And so that the Israeli hostages can finally be released.”

But for many leaders in the Middle East, even Germany is too pro-Israel. During Baerbock’s state visit to Jordan in September, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said: “We understand Germany’s relation with Israel and we’re going to say it very openly and very clearly: Supporting this Israeli government is not supporting Israel. On the contrary, supporting Israel means standing up to what Israel is doing—namely violating international ….”

Germany appears to please both sides in a situation where it is impossible to please both sides. For some, this is perplexing, but it is extremely important to understand.

The Self-proclaimed Mediator

As Spiegel reported in January, many officials in Israel’s Arab neighborhood are “pleased that Hamas is finally being cut down to size. Externally, though, they have been sending an entirely different message. In countries like Jordan and Lebanon, both of which border Israel and are home to large Palestinian minorities, governments are particularly concerned about popular anger.”

Germany is also well aware of the popular sentiment in these countries and exerts much effort to appease them to win their favor. Spiegel commented:

Since [October 7], the war in Gaza has become the dominant issue of [Baerbock’s] tenure, pushing all other crises into the background: the war in Ukraine, the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, and the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. … According to those closest to her, she believes that as the German foreign minister, she is in a position to make a difference. And that because of that conviction, she sees it as her duty to do what she can. …

Baerbock believes that there are only very few players who are in a position to achieve anything at all in the Middle East. Important countries like France, which administered Syria and Lebanon as part of the French mandate until 1943, are too deeply involved in the region for historical reasons. They can hardly act as an honest broker between the parties. Other countries are too small to play such an important mediating role.

That leaves the United States, which can exert significant influence in the region through its military power. And Germany, which is accepted by all sides as a mediator due to its historically established role. Berlin recognizes Israel’s right to exist, but it has no interests of its own in the region and is thus seen as a neutral actor.

While it is true that Germany may be perceived as a neutral actor with no interests of its own, Bible prophecy reveals that Germany isn’t neutral at all. As our booklet Proof of the Bible explains, the Old and New Testaments contain hundreds of prophecies—some of which have already been fulfilled, many others are in the process of being fulfilled, and even more are yet to be fulfilled.

Remarkably, the Bible prophesied Germany’s courting of both Israel and its Arab neighbors. Biblical Assyria in prophecy is modern-day Germany—which is prophesied to be in an alliance with various Arab nations (Psalm 83) and Israel (Ezekiel 23; Hosea 5:13). These prophecies are explained in detail in The King of the South.

This explains why Germany has vowed neutrality in the recent conflict: It is positioning itself to become the Middle East peacekeeper. The Bible also reveals exactly what will happen next.

The Palestinian Arabs, Lebanon and Syria, currently strongholds of Iranian terrorist proxies, will break free from Iran’s control and ally with Germany. We can already see that Israel’s actions against Hamas and Hezbollah will weaken Iran’s influence. But for Germany to ally with these countries and at the same time be trusted by Israel, it has to be seen as neutral in the current conflict.

Once Israel does the dirty work of rooting out the terrorist fortifications, a new configuration will be established—and Germany will be seen as a trusted ally by both. To this end, Germany is preparing to send “peacekeeping” missions into the region. As Baerbock said on June 1, “If what is needed now is not just reconstruction, but an international protection force that guarantees that we finally, finally achieve peace in the Middle East, then that is also our common mission.”

How Germany Will Intervene

The Bible also reveals another step Germany will take to gain the trust of both moderate Arabs and Israelis: militarily confronting their common enemy, the source of terrorism in the Middle East—Shiite-dominated Iran (Daniel 11:40). This powerful act and the exploding violence in the Middle East will prompt Israel to invite German-led peacekeeping forces around Jerusalem. This sets the scene for the fulfillment of Jesus Christ’s keynote prophecy.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained in “The Hidden Danger in Germany’s ‘Alliance Against Iran’”:

Christ warned of a time when Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20-21). The parallel account in Matthew 24 calls this military deployment “the abomination of desolation” (verse 15; see also Daniel 12:11). Why? Because “the desolation [of Jerusalem] is nigh.” …

Christ’s warning that these armies surrounding Jerusalem will bring about its desolation is significant. Why? Most people will fail to recognize what is about to happen, because these armies will be disguised as peacekeeping forces. …

Hosea 5:13 describes the Jewish state (“Judah”) asking for help from the Germans (“the Assyrian”). And Daniel 11:41 says of this European power: “He shall enter also into the glorious land”—speaking of Israel. The Hebrew for “enter” indicates a peaceful entry, not forced. The Germans will undoubtedly be invited in as a peacekeeping force—to militarily secure Jerusalem from the engulfing violence.

For this prophecy to be fulfilled, Germany needs to have good relations with the Arab world and Israel. It is now working toward that exact outcome.

But why does Germany want to be at the center of this conflict? Mr. Flurry answers this question in detail in his article “The Hidden Danger in Germany’s ‘Alliance Against Iran.’”

Few realize how critical Germany’s diplomatic work is, but it is set to radically change the Middle East in the next few months and years. As Mr. Flurry wrote in “As You Watch Gaza—Watch Germany”: “The most shocking problem in the Middle East is not what is happening in Gaza but what is happening with Germany.”