Berlin (dpa) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is setting off on Sunday to visit Israel and the Middle East amid growing tensions in the region. “The talks will focus on the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank and the extremely volatile situation on the Israel-Lebanon border,” said a spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Efforts to secure the release of the hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas and a future two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians will also be discussed.
This will be Baerbock’s fourth trip to Israel and the region since the militant Islamist Hamas group carried out its terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. According to the spokesperson, she will meet with President Isaac Herzog and her new counterpart Israel Katz for talks at the beginning of her Middle East trip. In the Palestinian territories, the minister plans to hold talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, among others. In Egypt, her itinerary includes a meeting with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. A visit to Lebanon is also scheduled.
Baerbock plans to travel directly to Southeast Asia from the Middle East. According to the spokesperson, she will meet with her counterparts in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.