Germany and Morocco call for the adoption of the Biden plan for a ceasefire
Germany and Morocco warn against an escalation of fights between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. At the same time, they called for the acceptance of the Biden Plan for a ceasefire. "It is the only realistic way out of the war deadlock," said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) on Friday after a meeting with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Berlin.
Bourita called for a ceasefire according to official translation: "A ceasefire must be achieved. And on that basis, the region must be rebuilt." A basis for lasting peace must be a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
US President Joe Biden presented a three-phased plan for a ceasefire at the end of May. This plan includes an initial truce during which some Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip are released. In the second phase, the fighting would then be permanently stopped and the remaining hostages would be freed. In the final phase, according to the plan, the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip would begin. According to US reports, only Hamas has not yet agreed to the plan.
With a two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state is meant, which peacefully coexists with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also rejects a two-state solution, as does the Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas. Regarding a long-term perspective for Gaza, Baerbock said: "Long-term security only exists with partners. Isolation is the enemy of security." Both countries could make an important contribution to the partnership in the region. "Morocco is a reliable partner for Europe and in the region," Baerbock added.
The meeting between Baerbock and Bourita was the first in the format of a strategic dialogue, during which it was also supposed to go into the fight against the climate crisis and the topic of migration.
- Germany and Morocco, in their call for the acceptance of the Biden Plan, believe that it's the only viable solution to break the impasse in the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
- Following the Biden Plan, a ceasefire proposal for Israel and Hezbollah, Morocco, like Germany, advocates for a two-state solution, seeing it as crucial for establishing lasting peace between Israel and an independent Palestinian state.
- In the context of long-term security in Gaza, Foreign Minister Baerbock emphasized the importance of partnerships, noting that both Germany and Morocco, as reliable partners, could significantly contribute to the region's stability.
