AForeign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has called on Israel to do more to protect the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and to adapt the military approach in the area. After her talks with the new Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and President Yitzhak Herzog in Jerusalem on Sunday evening, she said that just as the Israeli government sees and wants to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, it also affects Israel's own security.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the Israeli army must do more to protect civilians in Gaza,” said Baerbock. She must find ways to fight Hamas without causing so many Palestinians harm to life and limb. The suffering of so many innocent people cannot continue like this, she said. “We need a less intensive operation.” Baerbock said she had also assured Israel Germany’s solidarity in the fight against Hamas terror.
Baerbock left for the region again on Sunday, her fourth trip since Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th. American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the region for the fourth time since October 7th; after stops in Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, he is also expected in Israel. After talks in Jordan, he particularly urged that more needs to be done to bring more food and more aid to the Gaza Strip and reach more people there. The food situation is “very difficult” for men, women and children, said Blinken. The humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the war zone is catastrophic.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned Security Council members in a report on Friday that there was a risk of “widespread famine” in the Gaza Strip. Infectious diseases spread quickly in the overcrowded accommodation and the sanitary conditions were “appalling”. Israel must fully restore water and electricity supplies, Guterres demanded, and the supply of fuel must be expanded. Baerbock also expressed himself in this sense and called for more help for the people in Gaza. With regard to the border crossings, she said that they were currently bottlenecks and that things should not continue like this.
Commitment to the two-state solution
After talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Baerbock is traveling on to Egypt and Lebanon. In addition to the tense situation in the border area with Lebanon in northern Israel, the focus will be on the status of Israeli attacks and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the efforts to free the approximately 130 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. had carried off stripes. Also central will be the question of the so-called day after – what will happen next with the Gaza Strip and in the region after the war ends.
Like America, Germany is committed to a two-state solution. Berlin is betting that a reformed Palestinian Authority will play an important role in the administration. In order to guarantee security, states in the region should also take responsibility. Like Washington, Berlin rejects any consideration of territorially reducing the size of the Gaza Strip or expelling or relocating Palestinians. An Israeli minister recently suggested something like this.
Baerbock praises Saudi Arabia
Yoav Gallant, on the other hand, the Israeli Defense Minister, with whom Baerbock wants to speak on Monday, presented an initial plan for the future of the Gaza Strip last week, according to which there will be neither Hamas nor an “Israeli civil administration” in the area after the war should. Reconstruction should take place under American leadership and with regional partners. Palestinians who have no connection to Hamas should take over the administration. Gallant also makes it clear that Israel reserves “operational freedom of action” in the area even after the end of the war and wants to control goods for the area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already rejected the assumption of responsibility by the Palestinian Authority.
Baerbock also criticized the behavior of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels who sparked the conflict. She praised the role of Saudi Arabia, which has already intercepted missiles from the Houthi rebels aimed at Israel. “We are grateful for that,” said Baerbock, referring to a possible export of British-produced Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft. Germany had previously rejected this. Baerbock spoke out in favor of a change of course.
With the fight against the Houthis these days, Saudi Arabia is making a significant contribution to Israel's security and to containing the risk of a regional conflagration, she said. “That is precisely why we do not see that we as the German federal government oppose the British considerations for further Eurofighters for Saudi Arabia,” said Baerbock. “The world, especially here in the Middle East, has become completely different since October 7th.”
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