According to Israel’s announcement
Baerbock: Offensive in Rafah would be “unjustifiable”
February 3, 2024, 1:20 a.m
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Israel also wants to advance to Rafah in the war against Hamas. Numerous Palestinians have fled to the city in southern Gaza. Foreign Minister Baerbock is “horrified” by this plan. It also calls for international security guarantees for a two-state solution.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has criticized Israel’s announcement that it will expand its military offensive in Gaza to Rafah. Baerbock told the editorial network Germany (RND) that she “heard this announcement with horror.” “To act now in Rafah, in the last and most crowded place, as announced by the Israeli defense minister, would simply be unjustifiable.” She and her American partners have been making it clear to the Israeli government for some time “that the people of Gaza cannot disappear into thin air.”
Baerbock also called for international security guarantees for the implementation of a two-state solution in the Middle East. “International security guarantees are needed so that hateful terror no longer emerges from Gaza,” said Baerbock. The second necessary element is the establishment of a genuine Palestinian administration. To achieve this, the Palestinian Authority must be reformed. Thirdly, Gaza must be rebuilt using a kind of Marshall Plan.
These are “pieces of the puzzle,” said Baerbock. “We have to bring them together now.” The dismantling of Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas and the recognition of the Palestinian state must also be discussed. The prerequisite is a new ceasefire in which the Israeli hostages would be released. “As long as the hostages are not free and the daily inhumane suffering of children and civilians does not subside, the Gordian knot will be difficult to break and no one can talk about the day after. That is why a new ceasefire is so crucial,” said Baerbock.
Baerbock once again spoke out against the dissolution of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. “The UNRWA structures in Gaza are also used by other UN actors such as Unicef or the World Food Program. They cannot really be replaced quickly in these acute days of war, also because the other organizations there are currently no longer there without security commitments from the Israeli army can really help,” she said.