Germany undermining its credibility by tolerating US, Israeli breaches of international law: Report
A major annual report by German conflict-research institutes warns that Germany is undermining its own credibility by failing to clearly condemn alleged breaches of international law by key allies, including the United States and Israel.
The 2026 Peace Report argues that the rules-based international order is eroding as more states behave like “warlords” and treat war as a “political tool.” The authors say that not pushing back against this trend could fuel further escalation and more violent conflicts worldwide.
In its criticism of Berlin’s foreign policy, the report points to what it describes as hesitation to denounce unilateral US military actions, Israeli war crimes in Gaza, and Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Syria.
“By selectively denouncing breaches of international law while, through evasive language, appearing to tolerate violations by allies such as the US and Israel, Germany risks undermining its credibility as an international actor,” the experts wrote, calling for an immediate change in approach.
The report urges Germany to apply the same standard to all parties. “We must begin by clearly identifying and publicly condemning blatant violations of rules, regardless of whether these are committed by allies or adversaries,” it said, arguing this is necessary to uphold a rules-based order.
The Peace Report is the joint yearbook of Germany’s leading peace and conflict research institutes: BICC (Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies), IFSH (Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg), INEF (Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden, Institute for Development and Peace), and PRIF (Leibniz-Institut Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt).