BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative partners in Bavaria say they reject European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposals for a tougher stance on Israel.

“Turning its back on Israel cannot be an option for Germany,” Alexander Hoffmann, the leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) in the Bundestag, told POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook. “I hope the Commission president will reconsider her position and retract her statements.”

Hoffmann’s comments followed von der Leyen’s announcement on Wednesday in her State of the Union speech that the Commission would draw up proposals to sanction Israel’s “extremist ministers” and move to partially suspend trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a wide-ranging pact covering economic cooperation.

Bavarian conservatives, who are part of von der Leyen’s conservative European People’s Party (EPP) and govern in an alliance with Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), say they will stand against the proposals.

“Unilateral pressure on Israel does not bring peace any closer,” said Hoffmann. “On the contrary, that is exactly what Hamas wants to achieve. You can criticize friends — yes, you even have to — but you cannot sanction friends.”

Von der Leyen has been under increasing pressure to take a tougher stance on Israel, including from inside her own Commission. But the reactions to her Israel proposals illustrated the continuing political divide, with some MEPs in the audience applauding while others jeered. Some of the harshest criticism of her proposals came from her own EPP. 

Divides within Merz’s coalition

The dynamic in Brussels reflects to some extent the political divides inside Merz’s own coalition in Berlin.

Germany has traditionally been one of Israel’s closest allies, but Merz has criticized the Israeli government — including its recent attack on Hamas targets in Qatar — in unusually strong terms for a German chancellor. At the same time, his coalition has stopped short of supporting punitive action on the EU level.

Last month, however, Merz announced that Germany would partially suspend weapons deliveries to Israel following its government’s move to expand military operations in Gaza. The chancellor was then confronted with a backlash from inside his own conservative alliance.

Merz, therefore, has been careful in reacting to von der Leyen’s latest proposals. 

“There has been no fundamental change in Germany’s policy toward Israel,” Merz said late Wednesday in Berlin. “Germany will continue to stand by the state of Israel in the future. This is also a historical obligation.”

At the same time, Merz didn’t rule out support for von der Leyen’s sanctions proposal.

 “As far as sanctions are concerned, I would first like to wait for the internal discussion in the European Council, as well as the discussion within the coalition,” he said.

If there is no agreement within the coalition “we automatically abstain,” a German government official said regarding potential votes on von der Leyen’s proposals to sanction Israeli ministers and suspend parts of the association agreement.

The coalition in Berlin — which consists of Merz’s conservative alliance and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — has grown increasingly divided on the matter. While CSU politicians are the most steadfast supporters of Israel, SPD politicians are calling for a tougher approach. Merz’s CDU stands somewhere in the middle. 

“I welcome the announcements made by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,” SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Siemtje Möller told Berlin Playbook.

The CDU’s foreign policy spokesperson, Jürgen Hardt, signaled openness “for sanctions against extremist settler ministers” but warned that restrictions on economic cooperation could backfire.

“They would affect and discourage those who are willing to cooperate and could be exploited by the radical side in Israel,” he said.

Passage of von der Leyen’s proposals would depend on German support. A partial suspension of trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would require a qualified majority among EU governments. Sanctioning Israeli ministers would require a unanimous vote.

Both topics are expected to top the agenda during the upcoming European Council meetings in October. 

Jasper Bennink and Hans von der Burchard contributed to this report from Berlin.