German Foreign minister Heiko Maas gives a joint press conference with President of Commission Jean Claude Juncker (unseen) after their bilateral meeting on April 13, 2018 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. / AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, June 10, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is due to arrive in Israel.
Maas will land in Israel on Wednesday and will meet with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and other Israeli officials. In the afternoon, he will meet with Palestinian officials over video conference, and in the evening will depart to Jordan.
He is expected to convey a message from Berlin to Netanyahu and Ghantsa warning against a unilateral decision to annex the territories on the West Bank.
Germany is an important ally of Israel. The Meuse, presumably, will ask Israel not to confront Berlin with a choice between relations with an ally and international law.
The Minister’s visit is also important because from July 1, Germany will take the chair of the Council of the European Union and the UN Security Council.
Last month, Germany and the Palestinian Authority issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” over plans to annex occupied territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, stressing that such a move would be in violation of international law and would undermine a future two-state solution. Germany and the PA restated their commitment to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations based on United Nations resolutions and 1967 borders.
