Remove the basis for terror from Hamas

diplomacy

Merz in the Middle East: Taking away Hamas’s basis for terror

It is one of his most important trips abroad to date, but also one of the most difficult. Chancellor Merz is traveling in the Middle East for two days. Tomorrow he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

At the start of his two-day Middle East trip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) called for progress in the peace process for Gaza. “We share the relief that the ceasefire in Gaza has been stabilizing for two months now. But now we must also enter the second phase,” demanded the Chancellor after a meeting with the Jordanian King Abdullah II in Aqaba. “This includes finally removing the basis for Hamas’ terror.”

This also means that the still precarious humanitarian situation of the civilian population in Gaza is improving quickly and noticeably, emphasized Merz. “More humanitarian aid is needed before winter.”

In the afternoon, Merz first stopped in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on the Red Sea and then flew on to Israel. A meeting with President Izchak Herzog was planned in Jerusalem in the evening, and the Chancellor wants to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

Merz also sent words of warning to Israel from Aqaba. The situation in the West Bank should not be lost sight of, he said. “We must keep the path to Palestinian statehood open. That is why there must be no annexation steps in the West Bank.” Ultra-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have long advocated for annexation of the West Bank. The Palestinians claim the area as part of a future independent state.

“We want to help lay a foundation for a new order throughout the Middle East,” said Merz. There must be an order in which Israelis, Palestinians and their Arab neighbors can live permanently in peace, freedom and security. Merz reiterated that Germany supports a two-state solution. Negotiations on this should begin soon. He will talk to Netanyahu about this.

Merz will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and commemorate the six million Jews murdered during the Nazi dictatorship – a program item that is part of every inaugural visit to Israel by a German chancellor. He also meets with released Hamas hostages and survivors of hostages who were killed or died in captivity.

It is one of the Chancellor’s most important inaugural visits, but also one of the most difficult. It comes comparatively late: Merz’s predecessor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was in Israel three months after being sworn in, Angela Merkel after a good two months.

Merz has now given himself seven months. The delay is because a visit was considered unthinkable for a long time because of the Gaza war. There has been a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas since October 10th.