Berlin criticizes Israel's rejection of two-state solution
The Israeli Parliament votes against the establishment of a Palestinian state. Criticism comes from the German government. The decision is a setback in peace efforts: Isolation is "the enemy of any security".
The German government is deeply concerned about the Israeli Parliament's rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state. "The resolution contradicts several resolutions of the UN Security Council. Israel is thus distancing itself from the overwhelming majority of the international community and isolating itself," said a spokesperson for the Foreign Office in Berlin. He warned: "We all know, isolation is the enemy of any security."
Although the resolution is not binding, "it is still a setback in our efforts to bring Israel's legitimate security interests into alignment with the rights of Palestinian women and Palestinians to self-determination," he said. For the German government, it is clear that there is no alternative to a two-state solution, which also respects the rights of Palestinians. Only with a two-state solution can the security of Israel be guaranteed in the long term.
He emphasized: "Just as Israelis have a right to a life in safety and dignity, living their own affairs in their own state, Palestinian women and Palestinians do too." The majority of Knesset members had voted for a resolution the previous day that rejects statehood. Among them were the parties of the right-religious coalition, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the opposition party of Benny Gantz, which, according to the polls, would be the strongest party in the upcoming elections and would receive the most seats in the parliament.
Gantz was part of the now disbanded war cabinet until just before that. "The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel would represent an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens," it said in the resolution. "It will only be a matter of a short time before Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terrorist base." This will work to destroy the State of Israel.
The Federal government in Berlin expressed criticism towards Israel's Parliament for voting against the establishment of a Palestinian state, viewing it as contradicting UN Security Council resolutions. Despite the resolution not being binding, the German government considered it a setback in aligning Israel's security interests with Palestinian self-determination rights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-religious coalition were among those who voted against the Palestinian state, expressing concerns about an existential threat to Israel if a Palestinian state were established.
