German foreign minister demands rapid Gaza ceasefire

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is urgently calling on the Israeli government and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas to agree to a ceasefire so as to release the remaining hostages.

“There is now a very real opportunity to resolve the conflict,” Wadephul said on Wednesday at a meeting in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono.

Many neighbouring countries had contributed to this, he added.

The conservative politician said it would be “in all our interests if this terrible conflict could be resolved through a peaceful process.”

The goal for everyone was a negotiated two-state solution, he added, in reference to an independent Palestinian state that exists peacefully alongside Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a two-state solution, as does Hamas.

Germany knew that Indonesia, the country with world’s largest Muslim population, had a particular interest in the fate of the suffering Palestinians, Wadephul noted.

Germany, as a special friend and partner, also has a special responsibility for Israel and supports its fight against Hamas, the minister added.

He said the government considers the suffering of the population in the Gaza Strip to be intolerable and is urgently calling on Israel to design its further measures so as to alleviate the suffering.

According to the Times of Israel newspaper, the Israeli government is examining a new ceasefire proposal that Hamas claims to have already agreed to.