The recognition of Palestine by Norway, Ireland and Spain is putting the federal government under pressure in the Gaza crisis. The decision tests Germany’s commitment to a two-state solution.
The announced recognition of Palestine as a state by Norway and the EU countries Ireland and Spain have caused outrage in Israel and at the same time increased the pressure on the federal government in the Gaza crisis.
“Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays,” wrote Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Terrorist attack in Israel carried out a massacre of more than 1,200 people.
The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, was horrified. “These countries are giving the terrorists a tailwind,” Prosor told Table.Briefings. “The blood of innocent people will be on their hands during the next massacre. We will not forget or forgive these states.”
This text first appeared at our partner Table.Media
In response, the Israeli government released a video on Wednesday. It shows Hamas terrorists humiliating and abducting several bloodied women after their attack on the Nachal Oz military base. The women shown are all still being held hostage by Hamas. The families had agreed to the publication of the video.
On Wednesday morning, the three European countries surprisingly announced that they would recognize Palestine as a state on May 28th. This caused unrest and irritation in the Foreign Office. Apparently the EU partner countries and the federal government were not involved in advance, Table.Briefings learned.
The initiative does not lead to de-escalation in the region and only exposes the division in the EU over the Middle East conflict, they said. The focus now has to be on the release of the surviving hostages by Hamas and a ceasefire in Gaza. In general, however, they are sticking to a two-state solution.
After a meeting with her counterparts from France and Poland in Weimar, Annalena Baerbock expressed reservations: “To find a solution to this terrible situation that we are currently experiencing, we don’t need symbolic recognition, we need a political solution.”
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Michael Roth, called the move 228 days after the Hamas massacre a “victory for brutal and cynical terrorists.” But there are also supporters in the SPD. “Germany should advance the recognition of Palestine as part of a joint European initiative,” said Isabel Cademartori, a member of the Bundestag from Mannheim, to Stern, “provided that the hostages are released and a ceasefire is agreed.”
SPD foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner also said that the recognition of Palestine could be “steps on the way to a two-state solution”. In an interview with Table.Briefings, CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen referred to the “lack of legal prerequisites” for this and explained: “This is not a contribution to peace in the Middle East. This step is more domestic policy than foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, the federal government is not ruling out Netanyahu’s arrest. When asked whether Germany would abide by the decisions of the International Criminal Court, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday: “We adhere to the law.”
The original for this article “Palestine recognition: Three countries are putting the federal government in trouble” comes from Table.Media.
