Germany will increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by €50 million ($55 million), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced in Amman on Thursday, condemning Israeli efforts to further destabilize the Middle East.
Baerbock said during a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi that Germany has pledged more than 360 million euros to the residents of Gaza since last year.
The focus of the latest aid effort is on combating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, and on providing health care during the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Islamist leader Hamas.
In addition, humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Jordan will be increased by €12.7 million, bringing German aid to Jordan to €63 million by 2024.
According to the German Foreign Ministry, two convoys of 120 trucks per week travel directly from Jordan to the Gaza Strip via border crossings in the northern Gaza Strip. Germany will provide an additional €5 million to support this access.
Before traveling to Israel for two days, Baerbock was scheduled to visit a warehouse operated by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), a non-governmental organization that plays a major role in distributing Jordanian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The JHCO provides medical equipment, food, tents, household goods and clothing. The German government supports the JHCO with €4 million for the purchase of trucks, fuel and vehicle maintenance.
‘Irresponsible’ actions by parts of the Israeli government
Baerbock’s trip to Israel could come as a shock after she called on parts of the Israeli government to stop stoking religious tensions during the war in Gaza.
“We strongly reject any attempt to disrupt the existing status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem,” the Green politician said.
Actions by individual Israeli ministers, such as the visit of far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, “are irresponsible and are already creating an absolutely explosive situation. We expect the Israeli side to stop this provocation,” Baerbock added.
The Temple Mount, which includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is the third holiest site in Islam and is under Muslim rule. However, it is also holy to Israeli Jews, as two Jewish temples once stood there.
According to Baerbock, the recent outbreak of violence in the Palestinian West Bank, on the other side of Israel from Gaza, is a major concern for the German government.
“Israel is the occupying power in the West Bank and is obliged under the Geneva Convention to maintain law and order rather than endanger it,” she said.
“This explicitly includes protecting the population from attacks by violent, radical settlers.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Criticizes Netanyahu
Israel has the right to fight terrorism, she said, “but you don’t fight terror by tearing up roads, destroying water pipes and electricity grids, or even blocking access to hospitals.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Al-Safadi called on the German government to impose sanctions against Israel.
“After more than 10 months of aggression (in Gaza), (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu will obviously listen neither to the UN Security Council nor to the advice of his friends in the West,” Al-Safadi said.
Netanyahu will continue if he is not threatened with consequences for his actions, he said.
The war in Gaza, which has reportedly killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, was sparked by a Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people.
Baerbock arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks on Thursday morning and then traveled to Jordan.
