German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated on Thursday that Israel is facing growing diplomatic isolation over the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and mounting international support for Palestinian statehood, according to Al Arabiya.
Official Visit to Israel
Wadephul’s remarks come before his visit to Israel to meet his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar and President Isaac Herzog, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He also noted that that the recent UN conference on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — boycotted by the US and Israel — showed that “Israel is finding itself increasingly in the minority.”
Plans to Recognize Palestinian State
Several European countries have recently announced their plans to recognize a state of Palestine without previous negotiations.
However, Germany, one of Israel’s staunchest diplomatic allies, is not planning to recognize the Palestinian state in the short term, according to Reuters.
A German government spokesperson said on Friday that his country’s top priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.
Germany’s position on Israel in the context of the Gaza war is deeply shaped by its sense of special responsibility to atone for the Holocaust, during which six million European Jews were killed under Hitler’s regime between 1933 and 1945.
Wadephul also repeated Berlin’s position that “the recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of the process” of negotiations.
However, he sharpened his tone slightly by insisting that “this process must begin now” and that “Germany will also be forced to react to unilateral moves.”
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