German Minister Criticizes Israeli Far Right On Jerusalem Visit.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sharply critized the far-right Israeli government over increased settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday.

She also demanded that the Palestinian militant group Hamas accept a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden, calling it the only realistic path toward a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas has it in its hands to immediately alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza,” Baerbock said.

Baerbock, though, also accused far-right extremists in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu’s government of encouraging conflict in the West Bank.

“Parts of the Israeli governing coalition are setting things on fire and endangering Israeli security interests in the long term with their aggressive settlement policy,” Baerbock said after a meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.

She also criticized reports of brutal conditions for Palestinians detained by Israel and other reports of alleged rights abused by Israeli forces.

“The shocking reports of cruel detention conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli camps and prisons do not match Israel’s own claim to be a democracy and constitutional state,” Baerbock said.

She called for Israel to offer an explanation for “disturbing” images of the Israeli army’s operations in Jenin, which “contradict international humanitarian law.”

On Saturday, videos showed Israeli soldiers driving with an injured Palestinian bound to the hood of a vehicle.

Further German aid money for Gaza

Earlier on Tuesday, Baerbock travelled to Ramallah in the West Bank to discuss the future role of the Palestinian Authority (PA) with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.

Baerbock said that the PA could play an important role in the post-war order in the Gaza Strip. Hamas drove out the PA and seized control of Gaza by force in 2007.

Ahead of the meeting with Mustafa, Baerbock was shown the situation in the West Bank and border area with Israeli by Oliver Owcza, head of the German Representative Office for Palestine in Ramallah.

Critics accuse the right-wing extremist parties in the Israeli government of wanting to strangle the PA by cutting Israeli payments to the body. As a result, some salaries of PA employees can no longer be paid.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also recently announced that he wanted to withhold funds totalling $32.5 million from the PA and use that money to pay Israeli terror victims instead.

Baerbock criticized Israeli authorities for completely blocking PA access to customs and tax money that was guaranteed under the Oslo Accords, landmark agreements struck between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the 1990s.

At the Herzliya Security Conference near Tel Aviv on Monday, Baerbock condemned these measures.

“In the current situation, it’s dangerous and self-defeating to destroy and destabilize established PA structures,” she said.

Further German aid funds for Gaza

In Jerusalem, Baerbock said that Germany is making a further €19 million ($20 million) available for humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme are bringing “flour and rice to starving families whose lives are at risk, because every meal, no matter how small, is vital for the children in Gaza,” Baerbock said.

She added that every box of medical supplies from the World Health Organization (WHO) helps to “restore a minimum level of medical care” in destroyed hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which has been under intense bombardment from Israeli forces for months.

Among other things, the money will be used to finance food baskets that cover 90% of daily calorie requirements and contain flour, rice, sugar, oil, chickpeas and powdered milk.

As announced at the beginning of April, the German Foreign Office is also resuming regular funding of UNRWA with a first tranche of €5 million to support UNRWA activities in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, particularly in the areas of education and health.

UNRWA hit the headlines in January because of Israeli government claims that 12 employees were involved in the massacre on October 7 and that the organization as a whole had been infiltrated by Hamas.

An audit report by independent experts later rejected those claims as without evidence and concluded that UNRWA had established “robust” mechanisms to uphold its principle of neutrality.

The latest announced funding brings Germany’s humanitarian aid contributions for the Palestinian Territories to €312 million since last year, primarily focused on food and medical care.

Further money is being spent on the evacuation of injured people, medical teams, psychosocial support and hygiene measures.

Source: Germany Today