Several mainstream media outlets distorted the German foreign minister’s statement on Thursday, suggesting the country was set to recognize a ‘Palestinian State.’
According to these reports, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced a major policy shift, announcing that Berlin would be willing to recognize ‘Palestinian statehood.’ France, the UK, and Canada have all made similar pronouncements in recent days, rewarding Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups for the mass murder and atrocities on October 7, 2023.
“Recognition process for the Palestinian state ‘must begin now’: Germany,” Turkey’s state-owned TV channel TRT claimed.
The French state-run broadcaster France24 echoed: “Germany: Process to recognise Palestine state ‘must begin now.'”
The French network added:
Germany says the process to recognise a Palestinian state ‘must begin now.’ “This represents a major shift in German foreign policy,” says our correspondent Nick Holdsworth.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported the foreign minister’s remarks before he headed off to Jerusalem on Friday:
[Foreign Minister] Wadephul reiterated that Germany – unlike France and Great Britain, for instance – is not presently considering the recognition of a Palestinian state. However, from from Germany’s point of view, a negotiated two-state solution remains the only way to enable people on both sides to live in peace, security, and dignity, he added: “For Germany, recognition of a Palestinian state is more likely to be the end of the process.”[Translated by the author]
The statement says nothing new. Last Friday, Germany issued a similar communique together with France and the UK, reiterating its position on the Two-State Solution. “While all three countries support a Palestinian state in principle, Germany has said it has no immediate plans to follow France’s lead,” Germany’s state-owned DW TV reported, citing the joint statement.
The Jerusalem Post‘s diplomatic correspondent, Lahav Harkov, explained on X:
On its website, the German Foreign Ministry published the minister’s statement ahead of the visit:
Germany regards recognition of a Palestinian state as a step more at the end of the process. However, such a process must now begin. Germany will not deviate from this goal. And Germany will be forced to react to any unilateral steps.
Wadephul’s statement does sound like a veiled threat. However, he does not specify the nature of the possible “unilateral steps.” Seeing the statement in its entirety, this is apparently a reference to a possible Israeli “annexation” of Gaza and the West Bank.
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