German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled on Tuesday that his country would not recognize the Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, according to Reuters.
“The position of the federal government is clear, as far as the possible recognition of the state of Palestine is concerned,” Merz said.
Merz’s remarks came during a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said last month that Canada planned to recognize the state of Palestine at the General Assembly.
“Canada knows this. We will not join this initiative. We don’t see the requirements met.”
After France announced its plan to recognize the Palestinian State in September, Germany said it is not planning to take this step in the short term.
A German government spokesperson revealed that his country’s top priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.
“Israel’s security is of paramount importance to the German government,” said the spokesperson. “The German government therefore has no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.”
Recognizing Palestinian State is Counterproductive
On Friday, a German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin has not yet planned to recognize a Palestinian state, as such a move would further hinder the possibility of reaching a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.
“A negotiated two-state solution remains our goal, even if it seems a long way off today,” spokesman said.
He also described the decision to recognize the Palestinian state as “counterproductive.”
The recognition of Palestine is more likely to come at the end of such a process, and such decisions would now be rather counterproductive,” the spokesperson added.
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.
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