New German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived on Saturday to Israel as part of his first foreign visit as head of diplomacy. He met with the relatives of the hostages whose Palestinian militant Hamas movement is still detained in the Gaza Strip, TASR reports according to DPA.
In Tel Aviv, Wadephul met with his Israeli departmental colleague Gideon Saar at dinner.
Shortly before his departure to Israel, the head of German diplomacy called for accelerated negotiations on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, given the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip.
The situation in Gaza is unbearable
“The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has now become unbearable,” Wadephul said. “Therefore, serious negotiations on the ceasefire are aimed at the release of all hostages and providing help to people in Gaza, urgently needed,” he added.
Wadephul also reiterated the support of Berlin for a two -state conflict resolution. “The idea of a two -state solution in which the Palestinian state exists in peaceful coexistence alongside Israel – no matter how distant it seems – it remains the best chance of peace and security for Israel and its neighbors,” he said.
Both the Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reject the two -state solution, recalls DPA.
Has several meetings in the program
On Sunday, Wadephul will meet Netanyahu, head of diplomacy Saar and in the Ramallah Wneginan, as well as Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustaf. The German Foreign Minister also plans to visit the Holocaust Cad Memorial in Jeruslem, where he will honor the memory of six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime.
Wadephul had previously announced that he would ask Israeli leaders about “the strategic goal of combat operations that have again intensified” since Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas in March.
Earlier this week, the Israeli government decided to expand its attacks. Relations between Wadephul’s predecessor Annalena Baerbock and Netanyahu were considered tense due to disagreements about Israeli actions in Gaza and the western bank of Jordan, adds DPA. ZSL
