Two South African and Egyptian artists have returned Germany’s Goethe Medals in protest over Berlin’s support for Israel’s incursion in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

Zukiswa Wanner, a South African novelist who became the first African to receive the award in 2020, said she was returning it to Germany because she “cannot stay silent or keep an official decoration from a government this callous to human suffering in Gaza”.

Mohamed Abla, an Egyptian artist who received the award in 2022, also announced he was giving his medal back in the hope that “everyone’s conscience is awakened”.

“It doesn’t make sense that the German government speaks about equality and justice and at the same time ignores the plights and rights of Palestinians and helps arm Israel,” Abla told the Middle East Eye website.