In Ramallah, German top diplomat warns Israel not to annex West Bank

The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul, issued a severe warning to Israel not to annex the West Bank during a visit to Palestinian territory on Friday.

Wadephul has also strongly condemned the growing violence of Jewish settlers against the Palestinian population.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the conservative politician stressed: “We support the right of Palestinians to have their own state at the end of a political process”.

Wadephul said Germany was ready to actively support the reconstruction process after the Gaza War. For this, he said, a renewal of the democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian authority is necessary.

However, the authority should not be financially starved. Wadephul has called on the Israeli government to transfer the tax revenue retained, which rightly belong to the Palestinians, to the authority.

The Palestinian extremist organization Hamas should not play a political role in a future Palestinian state, he added.

Germany will not recognize the annexations

The source of concerns about annexation is the statements of Israeli politicians and a resolution recently adopted by Parliament. In this document, the right -wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is invited to extend the “sovereignty” of the State of Israel to all Jewish colonies of the West Bank.

“We clearly reject any annexation fantasy, whether for Gaza or the West Bank, which are also presented by parts of the Israeli government,” said Wadephul. “They would not be recognized by Germany.”

Condemnation of the violence of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank

Wadephul strongly condemned the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against the Palestinians in the West Bank, while visited the village of Taybeh earlier in the day.

“Such acts are crimes, they are terrorists and they must finally be prosecuted,” said Wadephul, adding that his visit to the Cisjordan community was “a sign of solidarity with all people suffering from colonists”.

Taybeh has been attacked several times by Israeli settlers in recent months, in the midst of a wave of violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied territories since October 7, 2023, attacking Israel.

“As occupying power and constitutional state, Israel must apply security and order and continue the offenses,” said Wadephul.

“He must protect the Palestinian population from these offenders,” he urged, adding that Berlin is in favor of imposing other sanctions on violent colonists at the EU level.

The situation in the West Bank has worsened considerably since the start of the Gaza War. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 960 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military operations, armed confrontations and attacks by extremists.

Germany promises another € in Gaza Aid

Germany is expected to provide 5 million euros ($ 5.7 million) to help the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, said on Friday at the start of the second day of its visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Wadephul said that money would go to the United Nations World Food Program to be used mainly for “bakeries and popular soups to provide residents of Gaza from bread and medium -term hot meals”.

Berlin also plans to finance a field hospital led by the order of Malta to provide basic health care necessary for Gaza, added the minister.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs provides for close cooperation with the UN

Wadephul has called on the Israeli government to quickly resume close cooperation with the United Nations and its field organizations to improve the distribution of humanitarian aid in the besieged Gaza Strip.

UN staff had “clearly shown that they are able to provide sufficient supplies to all people in Gaza if they are allowed to do so and if they can work safe,” he said.

According to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories has totaled more than 330 million euros since the start of the fighting in Gaza in October 2023.

More than 95% of money is used for the Gaza Strip population, he said. More recently, the aid was increased up to almost 31 million euros in May.

German military planes are starting to come across Gaza

German military planes began to abandon aid on the Gaza Strip, the Defense Ministry announced on Friday, while Berlin joins international efforts to relieve the disastrous humanitarian situation.

The transport aircraft fell 34 pallets containing nearly 14 metric tonnes of food and medical supplies, the ministry said.

Aerial drops are involved in the midst of Gaza’s deterioration conditions, which the United Nations warned on the brink of famine.