UNITED NATIONS (Chatnewstv.com) — German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Tuesday urged renewed efforts toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, warning that Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe shows the conflict cannot be resolved through war.
“Across Gaza, people are living through hell on Earth. Tens of thousands of people have died. Hundreds of thousands are starving. Almost everyone in the Strip has been displaced multiple times,” Wadephul told an international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestine question. “The people of Gaza have nowhere left to go.”
Wadephul condemned the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed, saying “this decades-old conflict cannot be solved by terror, destruction and death. It can neither be won nor managed. It needs to be resolved.”
He acknowledged that a two-state solution “appears more distant than ever,” but said no credible alternative has been put forward. Germany, he stressed, remains committed to supporting an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living “side by side, and in peace and security with Israel.”
Outlining Berlin’s principles, Wadephul said Germany will not recognize changes to the 1967 borders unless agreed by both sides, considers Israeli settlements in occupied territory unlawful, and respects the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion on the conflict.
“My country will always be deeply committed to Israel’s existence — which is still being questioned by some. My country will always be committed to Israel’s long-term security,” he said.
At the same time, Wadephul signaled Germany’s readiness to recognize Palestine “towards the end of a negotiated process that leads us to a two-state solution.” He emphasized that a Palestinian state “needs to not just be declared. It needs to be built.”
Germany, he added, contributes “every single day, in cash and in kind, to building the foundations of the future Palestinian state.”
