German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on the Israeli government in unusually clear terms to no longer refuse to negotiate a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict.
“Those members of the Israeli government who question the two-state solution in word and deed are endangering Israel’s long-term security,” Baerbock warned before she left for crisis talks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.
“Negotiations on a two-state solution are the only option for lasting peace. This is the only way to combat terrorism in the long term,” Germany’s top diplomat said.
The term two-state solution provides for an independent Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel.
Baerbock will travel to the Middle East later this week to talk to regional leaders about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
Baerbock will hold talks with her Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh on Thursday, before traveling to Jordan for talks with Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Amman.
On Friday, she will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, before traveling to Ramallah in the West Bank, where she will hold talks with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.
The two-day visit marks Baerbock’s ninth trip to Israel — and his 11th to the Middle East — since the Oct. 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza.
The talks are likely to focus on efforts to reach a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
However, the recent recovery of the bodies of six hostages and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats of retaliation have put additional pressure on the negotiations.
Baerbock also warned of the threat of further escalation of violence in the West Bank. Nothing would be gained “if a new, young generation is now radicalized because they have to see the destruction on their doorstep. Palestinians have the right to live in safety and dignity.”
Earlier, a German government spokesman said that “the horrifying discovery of six dead Israeli hostages last weekend has made it clear once again that a ceasefire that paves the way for the release of all Hamas hostages must now be the top priority.”
“All other considerations should take second place here,” said spokesman Wolfgang Büchner.
The German government called on “all parties in the negotiations to show the greatest flexibility and willingness to compromise” so that the hostages are finally released, more humanitarian aid is brought to the Gaza Strip and the population is given a reprieve from the war that has now lasted almost 11 months.