A sharp public diplomatic clash broke out on Sunday between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert after the ambassador grouped Hezbollah and Iranian attacks on Israel with violence by Israeli settlers in Palestinian villages in a post to X/Twitter.
“A day of outrage and sadness: a farmer killed by Hezbollah up north, hundreds injured by Iran‘s missiles in the South and Center. And in a parallel reality: the violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages following the tragic and to be investigated death of one of their own," Seibert wrote in his post.
Seibert’s post came after two deadly weekend incidents. In the north, Ofer “Pushko” Moskovitz, an avocado farmer and spokesman for Kibbutz Misgav Am, was killed in a Hezbollah attack. Yehuda Shmuel Sherman, 18, from Elon Moreh, lost his life in a car-ramming attack near Homesh in the West Bank, while his brother sustained injuries.
Sa’ar responded publicly on X, slamming Seibert for equating the two.
“Ambassador Seibert finds it very difficult to condemn attacks against Israelis without bringing up the Palestinians," he wrote. "His obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria prevents him from even condemning the death of a Jew caused by a Palestinian."
"Good to know that a new ambassador will soon arrive, one who will strengthen Israel-Germany relations.”
The final line was especially striking in tone, given Germany’s status as one of Israel’s central European allies during the current war with Iran. Earlier this month, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Israel and publicly emphasized Berlin’s support for Israel as the conflict continued.
Germany condemns Iran strikes on Israel, concerned with settler violence
Seibert did not let the criticism pass unanswered. Replying on X he reminded Sa'ar that has “publicly condemned Iran's random targeting of Israeli civilians and the criminal use of cluster bombs. Germany is clear on that. We stand with Israel in this war."
"Settler violence also concerns us greatly, as it does the Israeli president and many others," he continued.
His response sought to push back on the Israeli criticism while making clear that Berlin was not softening its stance on Iranian attacks against Israeli civilians.
At the same time, Seibert signaled that Germany would continue to publicly raise concerns over settler violence in the West Bank, even at the cost of a rare and open spat with Jerusalem.