Berlin and Paris criticize Israeli ministers' plans for Gaza
The Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip has been going on for several months. Two far-right Israeli government representatives now see this as an opportunity to resettle the area. The idea is causing outrage in Paris and Berlin.
Germany and France have sharply criticized statements made by two Israeli ministers regarding a possible resettlement in the Gaza Strip. Statements such as these are "neither sensible nor helpful", said a spokesperson for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The Federal Government rejects the statements of the two ministers "in the clearest and strongest terms".
Germany had made its position "very clear" at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Tokyo in November, the spokesperson said. There should be "no expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, nor should there be any territorial reduction of the Gaza Strip". In Germany's view, a two-state solution remains "the only sustainable model" for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
Criticism of the statements made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also came from France. The Foreign Ministry in Paris stated that France condemned such "provocative statements". They are "irresponsible and fuel tensions". The ministry called on the Israeli government to refrain from such statements.
"We call on Israel to refrain from such provocative statements, which are irresponsible and fuel tensions," it said in Paris. Forced resettlement of population groups is a serious violation of international law. "It is not up to the Israeli government to decide where Palestinians should live on their land," the ministry explained. "The future of the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants will lie in a united Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside Israel." The USA had previously criticized Ben Gvir and Smotrich's statements.
Macron calls for avoidance of "escalatory behavior"
The ultra-right-wing minister Ben Gvir from the Jewish Power party had described the withdrawal of the Palestinians and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip as "a correct, just, moral and humane solution". The war was an opportunity to promote the "resettlement of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip". Smotrich from the Religious Zionism party had suggested that Israel should "encourage" the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to resettle in other countries. If Israel proceeds correctly, there will be an exodus of Palestinians "and we will live in the Gaza Strip", the Israeli finance minister told an army radio station.
French President Emmanuel Macron had already described the statements on the forced relocation of Gaza residents as unacceptable in a telephone conversation with Benny Gantz, a minister in Israel's war cabinet, the previous day, according to the Élysée Palace. The idea contradicts the two-state solution, which is the only viable solution for a return to peace and security for all.
Following the killing of Saleh al-Aruri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau in Beirut, which was allegedly ordered by Israel, Macron also called on the Israeli government in the phone call to "avoid any escalating behavior, especially in Lebanon", according to the presidential palace.
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Germany and France have expressed concern over the proposals by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Emmanuel Macron, the French President, had previously condemned these statements as unacceptable, as they contradict the two-state solution and could fuel tensions in the region. The forced resettlement of population groups is a serious violation of international law, according to the French Foreign Ministry.
Source: www.ntv.de
