During his first visit to Israel, the Federal Chancellor underlines Germany’s “responsibility” for the defense of Israel and declares that Berlin does not intend to recognize a Palestinian state in the near future, but discourages annexations in the West Bank. German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his first official visit to Israel this weekend since taking office in May. Throughout his two-day trip, the German leader reaffirmed what he called his country’s “historic responsibility” for Israel’s “defense” and “security” and said Germany had no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the near future.
On the other hand, Merz also warned of the possibility of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government annexing Palestinian territories in the occupied West Bank.
Merz’s visit also marked the first trip by a major European country to Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for his possible involvement in war crimes in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Last year, Merz criticized the ICC’s decision, despite Germany being a signatory to the court and historically one of the countries that collaborated most in its creation.
Merz’s trip also comes after a brief period of tension between the two governments, following a decision announced in August by the German government which, under public pressure, imposed restrictions on the sending of certain arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza.
Although Germany was far from being part of the circle of countries most critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, this episode marked a temporary strain in relations between the two nations. In October, after the ceasefire in Gaza took effect, exports resumed.
“Germany must defend the existence and security of Israel”
This Sunday (12/07), on the second day of his trip, Merz visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and highlighted Germany’s “enduring historical responsibility” for the murder of six million Jews during World War II.
“I bow my head in tribute to the six million men, women and children across Europe who were murdered by the Germans because they were Jewish. We will ensure that the memory of the atrocious crime of the ‘Shoah’ (Holocaust in Hebrew) perpetrated by the Germans against the Jewish people remains alive,” the Chancellor said.
After visiting the museum, he emphasized that “Germany’s enduring historical responsibility becomes palpable.”
“Germany must defend the existence and security of Israel. This will forever remain inseparable from the core of our relations,” Merz added.
On Saturday, Merz began his visit with a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, after which he also assured that Germany was on the side of Israel, a country which, as he stressed, “has the right to defend itself and to exist.”
Warning against annexation downplayed by Netanyahu
Also this Sunday, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merz warned that Israel could not implement “any annexationist measures” on the Palestinian territory in the West Bank. The head of the Israeli government, in turn, responded that it was still a “subject of debate”.
During his introductory speech at a press conference, Merz categorically declared that “there cannot be annexationist measures in the West Bank”, and added that there can be “no formal, political, structural or other measures that amount to annexation”.
Merz spoke after the Israeli Parliament voted in favor, in a preliminary reading last October, of a proposed annexation of the occupied West Bank, a measure condemned by several countries and even by the American government, which, alongside Germany, is among Israel’s greatest allies.
Asked at the press conference about Merz’s warning, Netanyahu said the status quo in the West Bank “has not changed” and that Israel continues to control its security.
“This is why there is no explosion of terrorism in Judea and Samaria (terms the Israeli government uses to refer to the occupied West Bank), nor in the Palestinian areas,” the prime minister said, adding that “this principle will remain in force for the foreseeable future” and that “it has nothing to do with the issue of political annexation, which continues to be a subject of debate.”
Two-state solution, but without recognition of a Palestinian state yet
Regarding a future Palestinian state (made up of the West Bank and Gaza Strip), Merz said Germany was working to ensure that the State of Israel was recognized and accepted in the Middle East, but added that his country also believed “firmly” in the two-state solution – Palestinian and Israeli.
“A two-state solution can only be achieved through negotiations and will be the result of those negotiations, but those negotiations are necessary now,” he explained.
According to Merz, his government maintains that “the recognition of a Palestinian state can only be the end, and not the beginning, of such a process”, which is why Germany did not recognize it at the UN Assembly in September, unlike several countries that have taken this step, including neighboring and ally France. The creation of a Palestinian state is firmly rejected by Netanyahu and his government. During the meeting, Merz reiterated that Germany did not intend to recognize the Palestinian state “in the near future.”
The Chancellor also spoke about reforms that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which governs small parts of the occupied West Bank, has committed to implementing, aimed at strengthening its role in governing Gaza and in a future Palestinian state.
“There is a lot to criticize against this authority, and rightly so. I criticize it myself,” he declared, before recalling that, “now that there are signs of reform”, we must support the ANP, which he himself did yesterday during a telephone call with its president, Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian territories currently have no territorial continuity, and although Hamas’s political wing governs in Gaza, the PNA remains in the West Bank, although in most of this area (the so-called Area C, which amounts to 60% of the territory) Israel has exercised both military and civilian control since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Additionally, there are hundreds of Israeli military checkpoints across the West Bank and a permit system that does not allow Palestinians to move freely between cities, barring many from entering Jerusalem (among other cities).
jps (EFE, ots)
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