– We request the immediate release of all hostages whose terrorist organization Hamas is inactive holding in dark cellars, showing his brutal face," said Johann Wadephul on Sunday 11 May at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar.
The head of the German abroad Ministry, who, on Saturday evening, met with Hamas's relatives, said that German citizens were besides among the hostages. Their return so became a precedence for the German government, as Wadeful stressed during the meeting.
Negotiation call
Referring to the extension of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Wadephul said, "I am not certain that all Israel's strategical objectives can be achieved in this way, whether this serves Israel's safety in the long term." The German government so calls for a "return to serious negotiations" on the ceasefire.
– We request a political solution for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without Hamas," Wadephul stressed. In talks with Gideon Saar he agreed that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip "could have a future there and no 1 would force them to leave the region."
A two-state solution
At the same time, the Minister of abroad Affairs stressed that the presence of the Israeli army must have "a temporary character". According to the German government, the adoption of a two-state solution is "the best chance of surviving in peace, safety and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians."
Wadephul besides meant that Israel's existence and its safety were part of the German state's ration. The fresh German government feels obliged to make a message made by erstwhile Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany is so clearly on the side of Israel in the case of "any threat or question of the existence of the State of Israel". However, this commitment does not preclude criticism of the Israeli government. Nevertheless, criticism should never lead to hostility toward the Jews.
Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Saturday. The minister's journey, only a fewer days after his office, is 80 years after the Holocaust and 60 years after he established diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel. On Sunday, Wadephul and Saar visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust monument in Jerusalem and then held political talks at the Israeli Ministry of abroad Affairs.
During the main attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the muslim Hamas group that governs the Gaza Strip, and allied militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 people hostage. 58 of them are inactive being held by Islamists, 34 of whom are dead as the Israeli army says.
According to the national Ministry of abroad Affairs, the German government assumes that there is inactive a single-digit number of hostages associated with Germany.
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