Germany: Chancellor Scholz visits Jordan before stopping in Israel
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday evening.
He is due to meet this Sunday March 17 with King Abdullah II, before continuing his trip to Israel where meetings are planned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and relatives of the hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 by the Hamas.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Berlin airport last February (illustrative photo).
AP - Michael Kappelle
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in Berlin,
Pascal Thibaut
After the
United States
' public criticism of the Netanyahu government,
Germany
is arguably the country that remains closest to
Israel
.
Berlin, while supporting the right of the Jewish state to defend itself after Hamas attacks, nevertheless pleads against an offensive in Rafah.
Olaf Scholz
repeated this on Saturday afternoon, just before boarding the plane, in diplomatic terms.
His Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, was more direct and denounced what constitutes, she said, “
a humanitarian catastrophe
”.
Berlin is also pleading for a ceasefire which would allow the release of Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas, and the establishment of large-scale humanitarian aid for
Gaza
.
Two German planes carried out a first drop of supplies over the enclave on Saturday;
a second was to follow this Sunday.
But Berlin is aware that this solution is only a stopgap measure.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry pleaded, like others, for the use of the port of Ashdod, north of Gaza, to transport more humanitarian aid.
The meeting between Olaf Scholz and
Benyamin Netanyahu
is unlikely to lead to concrete results.
Before leaving his country, the German chancellor also reiterated Berlin's desire to see the re-emergence of a two-state solution, which the Israeli government rejects.
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Abdullah II
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