Germany backs further sanctions on Israeli settlers

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Berlin's recognition of a state of Palestine would come 'at the end of a political process'. AFP

Germany is committed to imposing sanctions against more Israeli settlers for violence committed in the occupied West Bank, its Foreign Minister said while visiting the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Ramallah to keep up pressure for a two-state peace settlement, a day after the US issued sanctions against the Palestinian leadership, in an apparent move to set back the process.

Usually a close ally of Israel, Germany says it will not recognise the state of Palestine yet – but has taken an increasingly critical tone towards Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Two German Air Force aircraft dropped food into Gaza on Friday, in a bid to help ease starvation in the Palestinian enclave.

Visiting the West Bank town of Taybeh, where authorities said Christians were attacked by Israeli settlers this week, Mr Wadephul condemned what he called acts of terror. “We will support further sanctions on violent settlers,” he said.

He said outbreaks of violence, such as the killing of an activist featured in the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, were “not isolated incidents”, and called on the Israel government to keep order. “Such acts are crimes, they are terror and they must finally be pursued by the police,” said Mr Wadephul.

The German Foreign Minister also criticised Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank − including a plan known as E1 for almost 3,500 new housing units. A planning hearing takes place next week. Germany's policy is that “a Palestinian state must have a chance,” said Mr Wadephul.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, second left, at the West Bank town of Taybeh. AP

Recognition grows

Momentum is growing behind a Palestinian state, after France announced it would recognise it in September, while Britain and Canada said they were ready to do so under certain conditions. In his meeting with Mr Abbas, Mr Wadephul said Germany saw this as coming “at the end of a political process”.

Mr Abbas assured him that a future state “would be demilitarised”, including in Gaza, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. It reported that Mr Abbas “reaffirmed readiness to hold general elections, noting they would exclude political factions and individuals who do not adhere” to certain principles.

Separately, Germany said on Friday its air force had dropped 14 tonnes of aid provided by a Jordanian charity into Gaza, as it joins in the renewed international airlift to address starvation in Gaza.

The German aircraft dropped 34 pallets over Gaza carrying food and medical supplies, according to the Foreign Ministry, which said the two A400M Atlas aircraft flew from the Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan. Germany has troops stationed in Jordan as part of an anti-ISIS mission in neighbouring Iraq.

The goods dropped into Gaza were provided by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation, the ministry said.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged the flights “can only make a very small contribution” to delivering essential goods to Gaza. “Israel must ensure comprehensive humanitarian provision for people in Gaza who have been acutely suffering for months,” he said.