Israel
Baerbock: Visit to the Gaza border crossing Kerem Shalom
During her visit to Israel, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock looks at the processing of aid supplies at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the south of the country. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa-Pool/dpa
The Federal Foreign Minister has long been calling on Israel to allow more aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. Now she visits an important border crossing.
The Kerem Shalom border crossing is located in close proximity to the Egyptian border. It was closed after the bloody terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th and reopened on December 17th for humanitarian aid deliveries. Due to protests by families of victims and radical settlers who wanted to prevent aid deliveries, the area around the border crossing was declared a restricted military area at the end of January.
Around 120 trucks with relief supplies every day
Before October 7, approximately 500 truckloads reached the Gaza Strip daily, including more than 300 via Kerem Shalom. Since reopening in December, however, more than 200 trucks have only been handled there on one day in March – otherwise there was an average of 123 per day in the current month, it was said.
According to Israeli staff, two scanners are in operation on the site, with which 12 trucks per hour can be checked for weapons, ammunition or other unauthorized goods. However, the minister’s scanners were not shown.
The Israeli border staff told Baerbock that they could handle significantly more trucks. However, one of the reasons this fails is that there are too few Palestinian truck drivers available. In a large square surrounded by concrete walls, the Federal Foreign Minister was shown 13 trucks with relief supplies, each of which had pallets unloaded. Some of the boxes were cut open. It looked as if the staff had done spot checks.
Pallets full of chickpeas and painkillers
The trucks had loaded, among other things, relief supplies from the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the children’s aid organization Save the Children. For example, the WFP shipment contained boxes of cans of chickpeas. The WHO delivery contained pallet packs of tablets used to treat fever and pain.
Baerbock and her entourage were the first foreign guests at ministerial level who were allowed access to Kerem Shalom by the Israeli authorities after October 7th.
Frosty greeting when meeting Israel Katz
Baerbock continued her sixth visit to Israel since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas in the morning with a conversation with her colleague Israel Katz. At the meeting in Jerusalem, behind closed doors, the current points of contention with the Israeli government were discussed in a clear tone: the UN demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages and more help for the suffering civilian population. Baerbock may also have mentioned her efforts to achieve a future two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Given the difficult topics, the public greeting between Baerbock and Katz seemed cold, professional and not very warm. There was the usual handshake and smile for the cameras. Baerbock and Katz hardly made eye contact.
Baerbock praises the Palestinian Authority and Abbas
On Monday evening, Baerbock expressly praised the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its contribution to the UN resolution after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Baerbock said in Ramallah that with its clear condemnation of Hamas’s violence against civilians in Israel on October 7, Abbas’s PA had made “an important contribution” to the decision in New York. It can only support Abbas’s PA call for Hamas to lay down its arms.
The UN Security Council’s urgent appeal for a ceasefire was overdue. The demands for the release of all hostages in the Gaza Strip and for more help for the civilian population in the coastal strip are also important.