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Chancellor Scholz is traveling to Israel on Tuesday
October 16, 2023, 9:55 a.m
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International leaders travel to Israel to show their solidarity with the attacked country. After Foreign Minister Baerbock, Chancellor Scholz is now on his way. US President Biden may follow in the next few days.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is traveling to Israel on Tuesday. ntv learned this from government circles. One topic of the visit is likely to be the fate of the German hostages. Eight people are said to be in Hamas custody. Last week, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the country attacked by Hamas terrorists.
On Saturday, Scholz spoke again on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both agreed that a regional conflagration and Hezbollah’s intervention in the conflict had to be avoided, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. Scholz had therefore informed Netanyahu about his diplomatic contacts over the past few days.
Netanyahu informed Scholz about the current situation and about Israeli efforts to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, which, however, were being counteracted by Hamas. Both agreed on the importance of this question. Scholz also reaffirmed Germany’s full solidarity with the people of Israel and underlined that Germany stands unwaveringly by Israel’s side.
According to US media, US President Joe Biden is also considering a trip to Israel in the near future. This is reported by the Axios portal, among others, citing sources in the Israeli and American governments. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Biden to Israel during a phone call on Saturday. The final decision about a trip has not yet been made, it said.
Biden sent his Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel and other countries in the region last week after the attacks by the Islamist Hamas terrorists. Blinken wants to attend appointments in Israel again this Monday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was also in Israel for talks on Friday.