Culture Minister Weimer justifies Merz's stance in backing Israel
In the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, regional powers are actively pursuing diplomatic solutions while Germany has decided to limit arms aid to Israel. Wolfram Weimer, Cultural State Minister of Germany, has defended this decision, considering it legitimate.
Wolfram Weimer, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the current Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has expressed that Israel still enjoys Germany's loyalty as its most loyal friend within Europe. However, he has been cautious about proposals to take people from Gaza to Germany.
The decision to limit arms aid does not change the Federal Government's fundamental position, according to Weimer. He believes that the Arab neighboring states, particularly Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, are primarily responsible for finding a solution to the crisis in Gaza.
Egypt has been actively pressing Hamas to accept a partial ceasefire deal, coordinating diplomatic and political pressure with Qatari and Palestinian delegations. Saudi Arabia, while positioning itself as a defender of Palestinian rights, has expressed concerns over Israel's military actions in Gaza, which conflict with its priorities for regional stability.
The Gulf states, as a group, uniformly support a ceasefire and the Arab Peace Initiative endorsing a two-state solution. Qatar and Egypt have taken the lead in mediation between Israel, Hamas, and the US, securing two temporary truces since late 2023 that included hostage exchanges and humanitarian access.
In a significant regional stance, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt joined 17 other countries at a UN conference in July, calling for Hamas to disarm, end its governance in Gaza, and transfer authority to the Palestinian Authority under international supervision. This declaration also condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel—marking a historic Arab consensus on disarming Hamas and excluding it from Palestinian governance as part of ending the conflict.
These complexities reflect evolving regional calculations amid a high-intensity Gaza conflict with no immediate end in sight. Despite the internal criticism within the Federal Government's ranks regarding the decision to limit arms aid to Israel, Cultural State Minister Wolfram Weimer has expressed his support for this decision made by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
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