Middle East trip
Baerbock meets Israeli Foreign Minister Katz
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz in Jerusalem. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
It is the Foreign Minister’s sixth visit to Israel since October 7th. Annalena Baerbock met her colleague Israel Katz for a conversation in Jerusalem.
Given the difficult issues, the greeting of the two politicians seemed cold, professional and not very warm. There was the usual handshake and smile for the cameras. Baerbock and Katz hardly made eye contact.
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 urgent appeal from the UN Security Council on Monday for a ceasefire is overdue. The demands for the release of all hostages in Gaza and for more help for the civilian population in Gaza are also important.
Baerbock is visiting Israel for the sixth time since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th.