German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday rejected top EU diplomat Josep Borrell’s proposal to suspend regular political dialogue with Israel in response to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
“We are always in favor of keeping the channels of dialogue open. This of course also applies to Israel,” the German Foreign Ministry said in response to Borrell’s plans.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that political dialogues within the framework of the EU-Israel Association Council provide regular opportunities to discuss compliance with international humanitarian law and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip.
Breaking the dialogue, on the other hand, would not help anyone on the Palestinian or Israeli side, the statement said.
Borrell proposed that EU member states suspend political dialogue with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip, an EU diplomatic source told DPA on Wednesday.
“Based on the available reports from independent international organizations, there are reasons to believe that Israel is violating human rights and international humanitarian law,” the source told DPA.
The initiative, which was put forward at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, will now be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Annalena Baerbock, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, follows the debate in the plenary session of the Bundestag. The agenda includes a current debate on the World Climate Conference. Anna Ross/dpa
