Baerbock begins difficult talks in Israel
Published: Friday, Sep 6th 2024, 04:52
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On the eve of Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's visit, a large number of people once again demonstrated in Israel for a hostage agreement in the Gaza war. However, since the mass protests last weekend, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the discovery of six hostage bodies, the number of participants in the daily demonstrations has decreased significantly. Netanyahu is adamant. There is no deal in sight, he told US broadcaster Fox News. It remains to be seen what Baerbock can achieve in her talks with government representatives in Israel today.
Baerbock begins talks in Israel
Relatives of the hostages accuse Netanyahu's government of sabotaging an agreement. "This is the last chance", chanted the demonstrators in Tel Aviv in the evening. Baerbock first wants to meet her colleague Israel Katz there in the morning. She then wants to speak to Defense Minister Joav Galant. Their talks are likely to focus on the faltering efforts of the mediators, the USA, Qatar and Egypt, to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages in Gaza. The US government announced on Wednesday that 90 percent of the agreement had been reached.
However, Netanyahu once again made it clear that he would maintain a permanent presence of Israeli troops in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza. This is currently the main point of contention in the indirect negotiations. The Philadelphi Corridor is an approximately 14-kilometer-long strip on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, which Netanyahu claims is controlled to ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into the sealed-off coastal strip. It is a position that appeals to many Israelis, wrote the Wall Street Journal.
Report: Netanyahu unimpressed by protests
There are two prevailing moods in Israel: the desire for the remaining hostages held by Hamas to be released and mistrust of Netanyahu. At the same time, many fear that an agreement with Hamas could lead to the terrorist organization regrouping and gaining strength, the newspaper wrote. It cited a survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute, according to which 49 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that Israel should not give up control of the corridor, even if this comes at the cost of a hostage deal. 43 percent thought Israel should do so.
UN deplores humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip
While the tug-of-war continues on the domestic and foreign policy stage, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains "more than catastrophic", according to the United Nations. More than one million Palestinians did not receive any food rations by humanitarian means in August, said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in New York. The number of meals cooked daily had fallen by 35 percent to 450,000 compared to July. He attributed the drastic drop in the number of meals cooked partly to the multiple evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army.
As a result, at least 70 out of 130 kitchens have been forced to either shut down or relocate. For the second month in a row, the United Nations' partners also did not have sufficient food supplies to meet the needs of the central and southern Gaza Strip, Dujarric complained.
UN spokesman: Journalists must not report on humanitarian situation
He cited the ongoing hostilities, insecurity, damaged roads, the breakdown of law and order and access restrictions as reasons for the critical shortage of aid. He also pointed out that even eleven months after the start of the war, international media representatives are still banned from entering Gaza to report on the effects of the war.
In the West Bank, Israel is also using "deadly war-like tactics, including airstrikes" as part of a large-scale counter-terrorism campaign in the cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm. This has led to further casualties and injuries, and more roads and infrastructure have been destroyed or damaged, he said.
Baerbock: Outbreak of violence in the West Bank causes great concern
Foreign Minister Baerbock also said that the renewed outbreak of violence in the West Bank was causing the German government great concern. "Israel is the occupying power in the West Bank and is obliged under the Geneva Convention to uphold law and order rather than endanger it," she said. "This explicitly includes protecting the population from attacks by violent, radical settlers." The occupation by Israel includes the right and the duty to take action against all perpetrators of violence and acts of terror. However, she added: "You don't fight terror by tearing up roads, destroying water pipes and electricity grids or even blocking access to hospitals."
In Ramallah on the West Bank, Baerbock plans to meet the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammed Mustafa, in the afternoon. In Baerbock's view, the authority could play an important role in a post-war order in the Gaza Strip. At the start of her two-day trip to the Middle East, which initially took her to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Baerbock had already called on Israel's government in unusually clear terms to no longer refuse to negotiate a two-state solution.
This envisages two independent states side by side: Israel and a Palestinian state. "Those members of the Israeli government who question the two-state solution in word and deed are endangering Israel's long-term security," explained Baerbock.
©Keystone/SDA
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