On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel plead with Israel not to “lose sight” of the need to establish a Palestinian state, as she wrapped up a two-day farewell visit.
Merkel’s support for a two-state solution has been one of the conflicts with Israel’s leadership during her 16 years in office, which were portrayed by firm support for Israel.
Speaking at an Israeli think tank, Merkel greeted the historic diplomatic agreements reached last year between Israel and four Arab countries — led by the United Arab Emirates.
But she said the deals, known as the Abraham Accords, did not eradicate the requirement for Israel to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
“We must not lose sight of the right of the Palestinians to have a chance to live,” she said. “Therefore one should under no circumstances, even as it becomes more and more difficult because of the settlements, lose sight of the issue of a two-state solution,” Merkel told a panel at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
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Backers of the Abraham Accords, which were expedited by the Trump Administration, have adulated them as breaking the long-standing belief that Israel could not forge ties with the Arab states before reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.
Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, a hard-liner who opposes a Palestinian state on Israeli-occupied lands, has ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians. Instead, he has advocated what he says is a more realistic approach for improving existing conditions for the Palestinians as a way of dropping tensions. His government, a patchwork of dovish, nationalist, and Arab parties that took office in June, so far has not declared any major changes in policy.
Merkel welcomed Bennett’s intentions but said such an approach would not be sufficient.
“I think that such a long-running issue (the conflict with the Palestinians) will not disappear from the agenda, even if there are improved relations with neighboring Arab states,” she said.
All through Merkel’s visit, she was welcomed as a “true friend” of Israel. Her agenda included meetings with Israeli leaders and a stop at Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.
She frequently professed Germany’s commitment to Israel’s security and stated that she was confident that her country’s next government — to be determined in detailed coalition talks following an unconvincing election last month — would take a similar stance.
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A significant issue on the agenda was Iran’s nuclear program. Germany was one of the world powers that negotiated the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran.
In 2018, after US President Donald Trump, with Israel’s support, withdrew the deal fell apart, The Joe Biden administration has been trying to resuscitate that deal over Israeli objections.
Israel considers Iran its greatest enemy, referring to the country’s military presence in neighboring Syria and its support for hostile militant groups across the region. It blames Iran for trying to develop nuclear weapons — a charge Iran denies — and believes that the international deal did not contain adequate safeguards.
Meanwhile, Iran has marched forward with its nuclear exercises, for example, expanded uranium improvement — a step that can draw it nearer to building a bomb.
Merkel said that conflicts among the world powers that negotiated the original deal have debilitated their position and permitted Iran to buy time and extend its military exercises across the region.
“Iran knows this, and therefore, we face a very serious situation,” she said. She acknowledged that she does not have a solution, but called on key players, including Russia and China, to take a stronger public stance against Iran.
“The more countries make it clear that they don’t accept the ambitions and aggression of Iran, the better for the region,” she said.
In the wake of the Holocaust, Israel was formed in 1948 and the two stated only established diplomatic ties in 1965. But over the years, those ties have warmed and Germany is one of Israel’s closest and most important international allies and trade partners.
Merkel was planned to visit in August, but the trip was adjourned after the crisis in Afghanistan in which the Taliban seized power. She then overdue the visit until after last month’s German election. She now remains in office in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed, a procedure that could take weeks or even months.
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