Germany’s federal commissioner against anti-Semitism has praised Donald Trump’s Gaza development plans as worth “a closer look”, but insisted the region’s future structure must be in line with international law.
The federal government has said remarks by Commissioner Felix Klein, made in a newspaper interview, do “not represent government policy” and were of a “personal nature”.
“I don’t think it’s preposterous to think radically and in a completely new way,” said Mr Klein when asked about the Trump plan for Gaza.
Mr Klein insisted the US president was “not talking about expulsion”, but “resettlement while the Gaza Strip is being rebuilt”.
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“You don’t sleep in your house while you are renovating it,” he said, adding the region requires “comprehensive construction of a completely new infrastructure”.
In January Mr Trump called Gaza “a phenomenal location on the sea”, and said the US would take “long-term ownership” – but sent mixed signals on whether Palestinians would live there under this future plan.
“I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” said Mr Trump, adding moments later that “Palestinians will live there, many people will live there”.
Israel’s large strikes in the region, in response to the Hamas October 7th attacks, have cost an estimated 48,000 lives but, Mr Klein said, had “not succeeded” in its stated aim to eradicate Hamas.
On Tuesday Egypt presented an alternative $53 billion reconstruction plan, dismissed by Israel and the Trump White House. The latter said the president stands by his “vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas”.
Contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Klein said that “any proposal that can help alleviate the suffering in Gaza should be seriously discussed”.
“President Trump’s plan has helped Egypt, with the support of many other states in the region, put forward its own plan for the future of Gaza,” he added. “Needless to say, I only support proposals that are in line with international law and oppose any form of displacement.”
His original remarks have attracted widespread criticism in Germany and were described as “intolerable” by Left (Linke) politician Janine Wissler. “This is not about renovation, tens of thousands are dead,” she wrote on Twitter/X.
In 2018 Mr Klein, a career diplomat, was appointed the federal government’s commissioner for Jewish life in Germany and the fight against anti-Semitism. In this role, devised to co-ordinate and develop the state response to rising anti-Semitism in Germany, Mr Klein has become a divisive figure in public debates, in particular since the October 7th attacks.
Mr Klein’s criticisms of Israel critics in Germany, including Netanyahu-critical Jews in Germany, has generated pushback with Germany public radio describing him a would-be “discourse gatekeeper”.
In 2020 the left-wing Tageszeitung said Mr Klein’s “careless labelling of Jews with the anti-Semitism badge” amounted to “abuse of office”.
