As the US government continues to toughen its tone against Israel’s government, Chancellor Scholz is preparing for his second trip to the country since the October massacre. The news at a glance.
According to its own statements, the Islamist organization Hamas has presented a comprehensive proposal in the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of further hostages. This includes, among other things, an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip, aid deliveries to the population and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons in return for the release of hostages, Hamas announced on Telegram on Thursday evening. However, it continues to insist on a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the coastal area, which Israel rejects. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to his office, that Hamas continues to adhere to “unrealistic demands.” As tensions continue to rise in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit Israel on Sunday, according to media reports.
The pressure that Qatar is putting on Hamas as an intermediary between Israel and the Palestinian side is beginning to take effect, Netanyahu said, according to his office. Accordingly, the Gulf Emirate is said to have threatened to expel members of the Islamist organization from Qatar and not give them any more money if they did not give in to the negotiations. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Chancellor Scholz recently reiterated that Israel has every right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror. But he also again called for a longer-lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to release the hostages kidnapped from Israel and to enable humanitarian aid. The Chancellor’s upcoming trip to Israel and Jordan was confirmed to the German Press Agency on Thursday from German government circles. It will be Scholz’s second visit to Israel since the Gaza war began on October 7th.
According to the federal government, Germany is making a contribution to the planned aid corridor for Gaza by sea. The German Air Force has also deployed its first transport aircraft to drop relief supplies over the Gaza Strip to Jordan. The aid supplies are to be loaded into Jordan and the drops are to begin this week. The Bundeswehr is providing two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, each of which can transport up to 18 tons of load.
US Senator criticizes Netanyahu
Meanwhile, criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu from the USA is becoming increasingly louder. The influential Democratic majority leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, called for new elections in Israel. He believes that the head of government “has lost his way by putting his political survival above the best interests of Israel,” said Schumer, who is himself Jewish and described himself as a staunch supporter of Israel. Netanyahu has entered into a coalition with right-wing extremists and as a result is “too willing to tolerate the civilian victims in the Gaza Strip.” Global support for Israel has therefore fallen to an all-time low. But Israel cannot survive if it becomes a “pariah.”
Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party sharply criticized Schumer’s comments. “Israel is not a banana republic, but an independent and proud democracy,” the party said in a statement. The head of government has been elected and his “decisive policies” are supported by a large majority. However, according to current surveys, Netanyahu’s right-wing religious coalition would have to expect massive losses in a new election.
Schumer described Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace – including through his rejection of a two-state solution. Netanyahu’s Likud party responded that the Israeli people opposed an international order to establish a Palestinian state.
EU Parliament: Israel must allow aid supplies to be delivered to Gaza
Meanwhile, Egypt is insisting on more aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip by land. The US-planned construction of a temporary port is taking too long, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Schukri on Thursday. Land corridors, however, are already available. According to Schukri, around 200 trucks are currently entering the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border crossing every day. But that is still not enough to provide for the needy population in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, argues that more aid is currently coming to the coastal area than before the start of the war. Rather, there are problems with the distribution of goods locally.
The EU Parliament also called on Israel on Thursday to immediately allow the unrestricted delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip via all existing border crossings. MEPs are deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the coastal area. A clear majority of MPs voted for a – legally non-binding – resolution that also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. It says that there can be no prospect of peace, security, stability and prosperity for the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas and other terrorist groups have decisive influence there.
The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on October 7th in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. They murdered more than 1,200 people and abducted 250 others to the coastal area. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority there, more than 31,400 Palestinians have been killed since then. The number, which can hardly be independently verified, summarizes civilians and fighters killed.
Israeli dies after knife attack
As Muslims in Israel and the Palestinian territories currently observe the fasting month of Ramadan, tensions in the region could continue to rise – as they have in previous years during this period. According to the army, a sergeant was killed in a knife attack in southern Israel on Thursday. “The terrorist who carried out the knife attack was eliminated on site,” the police said. According to Israeli media, the suspected perpetrator is an Arab Israeli originally from the Gaza Strip.
In response to growing tensions in the West Bank, the US government imposed travel bans and asset freezes on three Israeli settlers it accuses of engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians. The US government recently sanctioned other Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Abbas appoints new prime minister
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named a new prime minister on Thursday evening, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The economist and former World Bank employee Mohammed Mustafa was given the task of forming a new Palestinian government – presumably with additional cabinet members without party affiliation. His predecessor Mohammed Shtaje submitted his resignation at the end of February under pressure from Arab countries and the USA.
The US wants the Palestinian Authority (PA), which rules in the West Bank and is led by Abbas, to be restructured and then take back control in the Gaza Strip. Washington also wants to promote a two-state solution as a comprehensive approach to pacifying the Middle East. Hamas violently drove the PA out of the coastal strip in 2007.