Summary
- German FM Wadephul calls settler violence “terror.”
- Condemns escalating attacks on Palestinians in the West
Bank.
- Emphasizes Germany’s opposition to Israeli annexation
plans.
- Calls for protecting Palestinian rights and peace.
- Stresses need for dialogue and conflict resolution.
Wadephul said on Friday, when visiting the West Bank town of Taybeh, where Christians were attacked by settlers earlier this week,
"Such acts are crimes, they are terror and they finally need to be prosecuted."
The old Church of St. George in Taybeh was burned
down by settlers last month, and the Minister also went to see the
archaeological site. He pledged to keep advocating for sanctions against
violent Israeli settlements at the European level.
The so-called two-state solution, which Wadephul
claimed was the only viable route to peace, is seriously hampered by
Israel's growth of settlements in the West Bank, especially the E1 plan, which
calls for the construction of about 3,500 new settler units.
The senior German ambassador called on the
occupying government to respect international law and safeguard people in
Palestine.
Berlin’s policy is that
“a Palestinian state must have a chance”,
he stressed.
Wadephul also issued a stern warning to Israel not to annex the West Bank.
"We clearly reject any annexation fantasies, whether for Gaza or the West Bank, which are also brought forward by parts of the Israeli government,"
Wadephul said.
"They would not be recognized by Germany."
His comments were made on July 23, when members
of the Knesset approved a symbolic resolution that called for the annexation of
the occupied West Bank by a vote of 71–13.
Additionally, Israel Katz and Yariv Levin, two Israeli ministers, publicly advocated for the complete annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“Ministers Katz and Levin have been working for many years to implement Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,”
their
offices said in a joint statement on Thursday, using the Israeli term for the
occupied West Bank.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank and East
al-Quds in 1967, more than 230 settlements have been constructed, housing
hundreds of thousands of Israelis.
According to international law, all Israeli
settlements are unlawful. Israel's settlement growth in the occupied
territories has been denounced by the UN Security Council in a number of
resolutions.
The West Bank should be a component of a future
independent state with East al-Quds as its capital, according to Palestinians.
Major allies France, Britain, and Canada decided
to recognize a Palestinian state in September; Germany has not followed suit.
Germany, Israel's closest friend, has no immediate intentions to recognize a Palestinian state, according to Wadephul, but he sees it as happening "at the end of a political process."
"We support the right of the Palestinians to have their own state at the end of a political process,"
the Minister
said after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on
Friday.
During his visit to al-Quds on Thursday, Wadephul warned that Israel was in danger of becoming internationally isolated.
"My mission here today was to tell the Israeli side that they must act now and not just at some point,"
he said, adding
"We need clarity - also from Israel - that no policy of expulsion and no policy of active annexation is being pursued."
Wadephul urged Israel to allow the entry of sufficient aid shipments to Gaza quickly and safely, describing the humanitarian situation in the besieged strip as “beyond imagination”, as the occupying regime has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza since March.
"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end now,"
Wadephul said, calling on the Israeli regime to ensure safe
access for United Nations agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The United Nations personnel have
"clearly shown that they are able to provide sufficient supplies to all people in Gaza if they are allowed to do so and if they can work in safety",
Wadephul
stated.
On October 7, 2023, Israel began its genocidal
campaign in Gaza. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, it has killed over
60,200 Palestinians there so far.
Since October 7, 2023, the administration has also increased violence in the West Bank. In the occupied territories, about 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers.
What specific measures is Germany urging Israel to take to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has
strongly urged Israel to permit the United Nations and international relief
organizations safe access to Gaza via land crossings. He emphasized that
delivery of relief goods by road is the only way to reach people in sufficient
volumes and ensure proper distribution on the ground.
Wadephul noted that Israel’s establishment of
daily temporary ceasefires in parts of Gaza is being used to distribute relief
supplies, which Germany supports as an important step. However, he calls for
these ceasefires to be comprehensive, durable, and allow unhindered aid
delivery.
Germany is pressing Israel to take immediate,
comprehensive, and durable measures to remedy the “disastrous” humanitarian
situation, recognizing that air drops of aid only provide limited relief.